We bless you, God of Seed and Harvest,
And we bless each other,
That the beauty of this world,
And the love that created it,
Might be expressed though our lives
And be a blessing to others,
Now and always
Amen

I love Autumn time. Beautiful colours together with a reminder of the ebb and flow of the seasons.

Thank you, God, for all you have provided

The word Harvest comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hærfest meaning "Autumn". It’s a time of celebrating the reaping and gathering in of grain. Today Harvest celebrations come towards the end of the gathering in season, but this was not always the case. In times gone by, Harvest was celebrated at the beginning of the season, somewhere around 1^st August, and was known as Lammas meaning 'loaf Mass'. Farmers made loaves of bread from the freshly gathered wheat crop and these were given to the local church for use as the Communion bread during a special service thanking God for the Harvest.

The British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843 when the Reverend Robert Hawker invited his parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall.

With recent events local and national, I have once again been reminded of what has been provided, and challenged as to what we do with it. I pray that we, in our local individual lives; and we, in our corporate and worldwide lives; would do more to ensure that the provision of creation is looked after to the benefit, and welfare, and provision of all.

Thank you, God, for all you have provided

Creator God, forgive our moments of ingratitude,
the spiritual blindness that prevents us
from appreciating the wonder that is this world,
the endless cycle of nature,
of life and death and rebirth.

Forgive us for taking without giving
reaping without sowing.

Open our eyes to see
our lips to praise
our hands to share

May our feet tread lightly on the path we tread
and our footsteps be worthy of following

for they lead to you.

Si