Churches across the diocese celebrate Harvest in numerous different ways. For many of us, it is a time when new people or occasional attenders are in church so a great opportunity for mission and evangelism. We can also find ourselves under pressure to find ‘something different’ to say this year. The ideas below are designed to provide a few thoughts and ideas for you.
- Welcome – make it extra special. If you’re expecting extra people, have some welcomers to greet them and show them to their seat/pew so they’re not afraid of ‘sitting in the wrong place’. Explain the service as you go through it and do not presume they know what to do.Why not treat them to great refreshments – cakes or good quality biscuits to go with the drinks?
- The Arthur Rank Centre has numerous harvest worship resources, not only for rural churches. See here.
- There are loads of additional ideas on the ‘Evangelism Ideas’ web site here
- Give them something to take away. A favourite of mine is a simple card with a bible verse on one side and some internet sites on the other. Perhaps choose a verse you are preaching on in the service. For more on how to do this go here
- Gordon Banks led a webinar with Barry Osborne on missional ideas for the autumn which included Harvest, see the results here
- The Farming Community Network (FCN) also produce Harvest materials; available here
- Here are some further suggestions and ideas from HOPE Together;
- HOPE: Sharing a Meal. HOPE is joining with World Vision UK to bring communities together and to help transform the lives of children around the world. This is one way that you could celebrate Harvest this year. To find out more and to register now for a free Share a Meal pack… Taking part is easy. Request a pack here.
- HOPE: Harvest - the forgotten festival? We recommend the book ‘Hope for Harvest’ which contains many useful ideas to help churches make an impact at this special time. Laurence Singlehurst edited the book, and HRH Prince Charles wrote the forward, in which he says it is still vital to recognise the importance of God’s bounty.
- Also contained within ‘Hope for Harvest’ are thoughtful short articles from a range of authors, and four weeks’ worth of Bible studies written by Stewardship, looking at Harvest in the Old and New Testaments. See it here.
And remember, Brexit remains a big issue this for the agricultural and farming community, causing anxiety because of the ‘unknowns’ – at least make sure this is mentioned in the intercessions in a non-judgmental way.