Farming Life column – Grateful hearts this Harvest
Published in the Farming Life, Saturday 2nd November 2024
While harvest services are plentiful in the countryside at this time of year, as we praise God for his bounteous provision for both man and beast, you might find it hard to believe that each October there is a harvest service held right in the heart of one of the world’s largest cities, London.
Since 1972, the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists have hosted a thanksgiving service in St Bride’s Church off Fleet Street in the city. A smaller church than St Paul’s Cathedral, its more famous neighbour 500 metres away, nevertheless the Christopher Wren designed building is beautiful, with its tiered spire said to be the inspiration for wedding cake designs.
St Bride’s is a hidden gem in London’s vast array of places to visit. With the arrival of printing presses in 1500, many national newspapers made Fleet Street their home and despite having left, ‘Fleet Street’ remains to this day a generic term for the nation’s press. St Bride’s retains its unique ministry to journalism and all aspects of the media.
At the Harvest Service, a stunning display of vegetable and fruit produce adorned the black and white chequered floor, as over 150 journalists and agricultural communicators (including myself) gathered together. The St Bride’s Choir treated us to wonderful renditions of songs including John Rutter’s version of For the beauty of the earth which features these lines in the chorus:
“God of all, to thee we raise, this our joyful hymn of praise.”
Harvest is indeed a time to praise and give thanks. It is said that when we are grateful, we cannot be angry at the same time. Therefore, Harvest is a time for farmers to reflect and remember that despite difficult and challenging weather conditions, God has provided once again.
At the special lunch held afterwards in the Stationer’s Hall, Tom Martin or ‘Farmer Time’ Tom, as he is known in England, gave an address and in it he referred to the importance of being grateful through the challenges of farming, “Gratitude reconnects us. Gratitude wakes us up from our slumber, it lifts our heads, it gives us
renewal and energy,” he said.
“At our harvest services we give thanks and express gratitude. We’re thankful for sunshine and rain, and the produce of our land. We’re thankful for our homes, our vocation, our families and our health.”
The Bible also reminds us to be grateful, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
Out of the abundance that God has given us, we are to be generous and seek the good of others. In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus 19: 9-10, God tells his people not to cut the corners of their fields. They were also not to pick all their grapes when they harvested, but were to leave some for the poor and alien.
God has always wanted his people to enjoy the land and not be selfish with what it produces. In addition to our physical needs, God also provides for our spiritual needs. From the fall in the garden of Eden, God has had a plan to give us His son Jesus, and we will soon celebrate His birth at Christmas. At this harvest time, I am grateful for all that God provides.
This article was written by purplerain