This week we have celebrated Harvest Festival.  Sometimes it can be hard for those of us who live in towns to fully connect with the importance of good weather and a good harvest to carry us through the winter.  However, as a gardener I have learnt over the years just how hard it is to get a good crop year by year.  This year the cold weather at the beginning of the growing season and rain at the wrong times has resulted in a terrible runner bean harvest, as well as potatoes full of little holes.  The skill and sheer hard work by our farmers and those across the world is something to really celebrate and give thanks for at Harvest.

But the Church also reminds us that all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.  So thank the Lord O thank the Lord for all his love.  We worship a creator God who made our world so beautiful and fruitful and Harvest is a special time for giving thanks to God for the enormous beauty and variety of nature.  But of course it is also a time for thinking of those who are less fortunate than us and so we traditionally bring gifts to give to others.  In the Old Testament, we hear how the people of God always gave God the first and the best of the harvest. Giving God the first and best is how we are called to live as well.

Julia Peaty