Harvest Sunday

Opening Verse of Scripture

The land has yielded its harvest: God, our God has blessed us. Psalm 67:6

The earth is filled with the gifts of the Lord: wine, and oil, and bread, to strengthen and cheer our hearts. Psalm 104:13,15

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. Psalm 24.1

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

Eternal God, you crown the year with your goodness and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season: grant that we may use them to your glory, for the relief of those in need and for your own well-being; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

First Bible Reading Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God,  you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.  When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us,  we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;  and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

Second Reading Philippians Chapter 4 Verses 4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Gospel Reading John Chapter 6 Verses 25-35

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ esus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which[g] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

Post Communion Prayer

God our creator, you feed your children with the true manna, the living bread from heaven: let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage until we come to that place where hunger and thirst are no more; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Commentary

 The Bible readings for Harvest are not the same each year, they change with the lectionary. The lectionary works on a three year cycle, Years A,B, and C and every week in each of those years has readings from the Bible. Churches from across the world use the same cycle of readings so that every Sunday Christians from many different countries and denominations are reading the same parts of the Bible and applying the scriptures to make sense of life.

However each year the set Harvest Bible readings have words from Jesus which speak about our attitudes towards material things.

In Year A the Gospel reading is from Matthew Chapter 6 and Jesus tells the disciples

‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

In Year B we read Luke 12 and Jesus is teaching a parable and says

“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

This is Year C and the words we have this morning are from John Chapter 6 and Jesus tells the

disciples

‘The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ 

What is common to all of these readings is that Jesus is giving a warning that if our attention in life is geared towards gathering stuff together then somewhat perversely we will end up being empty not filled. This might seem a strange message for us to be reading at a time of Harvest when we are supposed to be celebrating the act of gathering in the fruits of our labours over the previous year! To be sure it is good to celebrate Harvest, it is an occasion to remind ourselves of how fortunate we are to have food and the things which we need to live comfortably. Harvest is also a time to remember that there are many people who have little or no access to the very most basic of things which we take from granted, food, medicine, clothing and a safe place to sleep. There is nothing wrong with Harvest and gathering in what we can, Jesus said himself that the Father knows we have need of these things. Jesus abhorred poverty and good harvesting should mean that we have enough to be shared equally. Nevertheless what Jesus is saying very clearly in all of these readings and indeed throughout his teachings, is that if we imagine that the action of gathering more material possessions and wealth will in some way produce either earthly happiness or eternal security we are badly mistaken.

Jesus knew what is was to be hungry and he fed bread to those who had nothing to eat. However Jesus taught that there was a deeper human hunger which was of much greater need than the mere satisfaction of bodily appetite. The real bread which sustained the soul of humankind was from God and found in him. Jesus himself had been tempted to direct his attention away from God and instead take time to turn stones into bread. His response was to recognise that bread could feed hunger but never satisfy the soul, man and woman could never live by bread alone.

Perhaps these readings are more meaningful this year than in the past because for many of us we have never known a time when there was so much worry about the basic necessities of life. Normally at Harvest we are surrounded by so much stuff, an excess, an abundance, whereas this year the Foodbanks themselves are worried about whether they will have enough to share and many are worried that they will not even have the most basic human need of being able to keep warm.

We are not in a proper war with Russia, and yet in many ways we are, the world is divided in a way which threatens the supply of food across the world and millions face starvation. That war which threatens to explode at any minute, already has consequences in our own land and how quickly things have changed for so many people with a cost of living crisis which threatens the livelihoods of so many hard working people through no fault of their own. It is in the midst of these threats to our fragile lives that we hear the words of Jesus encouraging us to remember to focus on things which are eternal and cannot be taken away. To be reassured that God is our refuge when all of the other things which we value are shown to be only the stuff we leave behind when God calls us home.  Charles Royden

Meditation

 God is present in all things, great and small. God's power is manifest in all events, great and small. So you do not need to involve yourself in great matters in order to serve God. You can serve him in small matters, in the mundane concerns of daily life. So if you plough the soil in a spirit of love, you are serving God. If you care for your cattle and sheep in a spirit of love, you are serving God. If you treat your servants with generosity, you are serving God. If you build a house for your family, you are serving God. If you speak at a public forum with words of wisdom, you are serving God. If you cherish your wife and your children, you are serving God. Perhaps in the fullness of time God will call you to some great act: he may require you to be leader of a Christian congregation; he may ask you to suffer and even to die for your faith. And if such a call comes, you must be ready to hear it and respond. But in the meantime obey God in the ordinary things of life.

To a new Christian by Pelagius

Hymns

• Come, ye thankful people, come
• We eat the plants that grow from the seed (Tune: Country Garden)
• Praise and thanksgiving (Tune Bunessan)
• Praise God for the harvest (Tune: Stowey)
• We plough the fields, and scatter
• All creatures of our God and King,
• Let us with a gladsome mind
• Jesus is Lord
• All people that on earth do dwell
• For the beauty of the earth
• For the fruits of his creation
• Sing to God new songs of worship (Ode to Joy)
• May the fragrance of Jesus
• If I were a butterfly
• All things bright and beautiful
• Who put the colours in the rainbow
• Praise O praise
• Praise the Lord ye heavens adore Him (Tune Austria)

Harvest Prayers

September is traditionally the month of Harvest and in our prayers, we give thanks for the bringing-in of the produce. We pray:

For the work of farmers and food producers, fishermen and all those who bring food to our tables; for those who work in all weathers to pick the crops, tend animals and manage our agricultural countryside

For those farmers struggling to make a living and for those whose work on the land and at sea is hard, dangerous or unrewarding; for those who suffer mental ill-health as a result of the pressures of farming or life at sea

For those for whom food is an expensive luxury; those living on a dollar a day or reliant on food aid to sustain them and their families; for those unsure where their next meal will come from; for all those for whom hunger is the reality of life

For our environment and wisdom to be able to balance the need for food with the impact of our food demands; that we may all be good stewards of God’s creation

For ourselves that we may be wise in the decisions we make about food and its impact on our world; that we may be able to help to feed the hungry; that we may always see our food as a gift from God brought to us by the hard work of so many others

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Let us offer our prayers to God for the life of the world and for all God’s people in their daily life and work.

God, the beginning and end of all things, in your providence and care you watch unceasingly over all creation; we offer our prayers that in us and in all your people your will may be done, according to your wise and loving purpose in Christ our Lord. Lord of all life: hear our prayer.

We pray for all through whom we receive sustenance and life; for farmers and agricultural workers, for packers, distributors and company boards; as you have so ordered our life that we depend upon each other, enable us by your grace to seek the well-being of others before

our own. Lord of all creation: hear our prayer.

We pray for all engaged in research to safeguard crops against disease, and to produce abundant life among those who hunger and whose lives are at risk. Prosper the work of their hands and the searching of their minds, that their labour may be for the welfare of all. Lord of all wisdom:

hear our prayer.

We pray for governments and aid agencies, and those areas of the world where there is disaster, drought and starvation. By the grace of your Spirit, touch our hearts and the hearts of all who live in comfortable plenty, and make us wise stewards of your gifts. Lord of all justice:

hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are ill, remembering those in hospital and nursing homes and all who are known to us. We pray for all who care for them.

Give skill and understanding to all who work for their well-being. Lord of all compassion: hear our prayer.

We remember those who have died, whom we entrust to your eternal love in the hope of resurrection to new life. Lord of all peace:

hear our prayer.

We offer ourselves to your service, asking that by the Spirit at work in us others may receive a rich harvest of love and joy and peace. Lord of all faithfulness:hear our prayer.

God of grace, as you are ever at work in your creation, so fulfil your wise and loving purpose in us and in all for whom we pray, that with them and in all that you have made, your glory may be revealed and the whole earth give praise to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Additional Material 

Harvest Commentary 

Harvest can be a bit of a back slapping exercise. Didn't we do well, we grew all these wonderful things and then we went all around the world and collected the most amazing things produced in other countries. We can refrigerate and freeze, we can put things in cans and ensure that we have as much as we want, almost whenever we want it. Harvest is rightly a time when we thank God for the abundance of the harvest. We should be grateful for all manner of things, from the field and the sea, but also the work of those associated with factory, mine, school and many other areas of life. 

But this year I would like us to reflect upon the cost of turning out increased production and greater yields. Harvest is a time for thinking about all that has been produced, but we need to reflect upon the cost of production as well. When the world was created God gave to us a solemn responsibility to care and he put boundaries upon the actions of the people he created. The story of Adam in a garden is a simple one but it has a powerful message. God gave Adam and Eve much to do, he expected them to work, but he commanded that they should not eat of the tree. There were boundaries placed upon their behaviour. Just because they were able to eat, did not mean that they should. 

Today we are faced with the same choices. We are expected by God to work, yet there are restrictions placed upon what we should do. Our farming methods, our industrial progress, our economic systems - all of these have a price. Other people around the world sometimes suffer as a result of our consumption. There is a growing weight of evidence that the activities of human beings are having quite dramatic effects upon our climate as well as the old familiar problems of pollution. 

Harvest is a wonderful time of year, but now perhaps more than ever before, it is a time when we need to also ask ourselves whether our greed has produced real need. If the cost of world development is global warming and the associated weather problems, then we have to dedicate ourselves to thinking how we are going to help those people who will suffer from the worst effects of flood and famine.

As Christians we need to understand the terrible cost of our harvesting of the world resources. There has been terrible damage done to the earth over the past years and our capability to do lasting damage increases every year. We have destroyed forests all over the world, and the removal of trees has caused erosion which has washed away topsoil which took thousands of years to form. Many of the worlds rivers and lakes are drying up as we extract water without thought of the consequences for aquatic life or local human need. Our intensive factory farming methods can cause lasting damage to the environment. Often the damage done by the use of insecticides and chemicals is not properly considered. Our desire for cheap fuel to power our increased production and satisfy consumerism, has produced acid rain and global warming which may have drastic consequences. It is against this background that we need to be reminded of the cost of the harvest. 

Christians need to responsibly engage and share in thinking through the potential costs of supposed gains in production. The answers are as difficult as the questions posed and as Christians we can never jump on bandwagons or suggest simplistic solutions. However what is clear is that just because our technology or science is able to do something, doesn’t mean we should allow it to happen. There are trees with forbidden fruit and the voice of Christian people should be heard whenever it is proposed that society should eat from them. Charles Royden

Harvest Commentary

Harvest Festival dates from pagan times and gives thanks for a successful harvest. For the Jews feasts were held in celebration of good harvests several times a year. Jesus refers to the grape harvest in today's reading from Matthew.

Jesus uses it to illustrate that the Pharisees had really lost the plot. They were so afraid that the Jews might be exiled to Babylon again, that they thought if they kept every law, both the written laws of Moses and the oral traditional law of their ancestors, that God would keep them safe in Jerusalem. Because it was so difficult to keep all these laws, rather than drawing people to God they had the opposite effect, they began to put barriers in their way. The Pharisees were misusing the gifts and responsibilities which had been entrusted to them and Jesus spoke out against this abuse. 

Rather than preparing the ground and making it fertile and ready for the harvest it was becoming more bleak and barren by the day. Not only had the Pharisees misused the gifts of God, most importantly they did not recognise the greatest gift which God had given the world, His Son. They liked to listen to Jesus, but they thought His ideas were too radical. Jesus told them repeatedly that they kept the letter of the law, but lost the spirit; they made a show of loving God with their public prayers, but they didn't have compassion for people and the harvest was being lost.

God has given us many gifts, some of which we celebrate through the harvest festival. We remember His goodness and provision for us and are challenged to use His gifts wisely. Many people are less fortunate than ourselves and we need to remember God loves them too, and often could use us, and the gifts He has given us (to look after) to demonstrate that love for them, not just at harvest time, but all the year through. Using the gifts He has given us in the service of others is one of the most appropriate ways of demonstrating our gratitude to God for what He has done for us. Sam Cappleman

Commentary

Harvest is one of the most wonderful times of celebration in the church year. Nobody gets killed, there is just unbridled joy at the beauty and providence of creation. Well almost that is! There are some lessons of caution as well, and those lessons are perhaps more important for our times than ever before.

There are obvious lessons about caring for the world which has been entrusted to us. At Harvest time we thank God, for all of the gifts which have been given to us, and all of the opportunities made available to us from the world and its resources. Yet this planet is not ours to do what we want with. It is made by God and we are privileged to have a time here to look after and enjoy it. The expectation is that we will pass it on to our children in a better condition than we found it. 

There are salutary lessons at harvest about sharing. We cannot help but feel embarrassed that we have so much of the world’s resources, whilst others lack even the most basic necessities. No Harvest Festival service should ever take place without a time of prayer when we think of the shocking conditions prevalent in parts of the world where people die for lack of resources which we routinely throw away.

There are warnings about priorities. Harvest can be seen as an opportunity to glorify increasing consumption and hoarding. However Harvest is not an occasion to thank God that we have managed to acquire masses of things. In our Gospel reading today Jesus tells his disciples that they need to care less about material things. This is a wonderful message but one which we struggle to hear. Jesus wants his disciples to stop worrying and live. The trouble is that most of us spend a lot of time worrying and working. 

So whilst we enjoy Harvest and thank God for it, it is also a good time to consider our priorities in life, what really matters. The pace of life is now so fast and the latest products are brought to market so fast that we might feel we have very quickly become out of date and need to replace everything. Yet even at the time of Jesus he knew that people had the same issues of worry and work. 

Jesus knew that toiling for the latest material goods brought no increase in satisfaction to our society. No matter how much we acquire, no matter how many material possessions, no matter how much money we have - enough is always a little bit more than they already have. The pursuit of happiness in the acquisition of things is always a road to dissatisfaction. What a paradox, the more we seek to be happy through such things the less happy we seem to be!

The Christian message is that pursuit of happiness through amassing things will only ever bring ruin. It is a curious fact that contrary to our wealth bringing happiness it brings impoverishment of the soul. Funnily enough the opposite is the case, the more we give to others the more happiness we receive ourselves. Giving to others is something which we learn from our Lord, Jesus. He had no possessions, he gave up everything he had and gave his life for others. It is his model which we seek to copy. Charles Royden 

Commentary 

Today many of us live in towns and our contacts with the countryside are slight. We do not know much about seasons, farming and the agricultural calendar. Much of our food is processed and packaged, we don’t get it from the field and the farm, instead we get it from Tesco or Sainsbury's. We can now easily buy imported fruit and vegetables which are not in season in our own country. 

However, this doesn’t mean that we cannot celebrate harvest in a meaningful way. Actually we could say that harvest is more important now because we need to be reminded of our dependence on God and our responsibility to treat the world properly. We must not become just indiscriminate consumers, unaware and unconcerned about how our food is produced. We now have the potential to do so much damage to our world so this is very important. 

Harvest is a time to focus upon our environment, to thank God for it, and consider our responsibility for our environment. Issues such as genetics, animal husbandry, pollution—all of these are in sharp focus at Harvest.

Harvest falls in the time of the Christian calendar with a liturgical colour of green - this is a good colour with all of its ecological and environmental connotations. The message of the ecological movement is that we all have an impact upon the natural world. We are all consumers or producers, so we are all links in a long chain of action which can either protect or destroy our natural environment. God put mankind into the Garden of Eden ‘to till it and keep it’ Genesis 2:15. 

With our increasing technology we are able to till the earth more than ever before. With the aid of science we are able to turn waste animal products into food for the same animals, and we are able to change the substance of plants and animals so that they can resist disease or be more productive. The ability to make a crop resist pests might bring food and life to millions. However this same technology also puts us at risk, as never before of being unable to keep the earth and its resources in the condition in which we have inherited it from previous generations. 

Harvest festivals, while giving us the chance to thank God for the riches of the natural world, also present us with the more solemn task of contemplating our responsibilities to nature. In more and more Harvest Festival services Christians must give thanks to God but accompany those thanks with promises to keep our environment safe, which is the means of all future harvests. Harvest is about how we use the things which God has given to us. We can use God’s gifts wisely for our benefit and share them with others, or we can abuse them. God gives to us resources which we can do many different things with. Some of those things are worthwhile and some of those things are very destructive. I think especially of the passage in the bible which speaks about a day when we will learn to use resources wisely. Instead of using metal to make swords we would use it to make ploughshares, instead of using it to make knives we would make pruning hooks. ‘Swords into ploughshares, Knives into pruning hooks’ Today this might say ‘Bombs into buckets.’ Today we each need to ask ourselves how we can use the gifts God has given us wisely, for the benefit of all and not just for ourselves. Charles Royden 

Harvest Thanksgiving Lectionary Bible Readings

Year A

Deuteronomy 8.7-18 or Deuteronomy 28.1-14, Psalm 65, 2 Corinthians 9.6-15, Luke 12.16-30 or Luke 17.11-19

Year B

Joel 2.21-27, Psalm 126, 1 Timothy 2.1-7 or 1 Timothy 6.6-10, Matthew 6.25-33

Year C

Deuteronomy 26.1-11, Psalm 100, Philippians 4.4-9 or Revelation 14.14-18, John 6.25-35

Thanksgiving Prayer

Father in heaven all good gifts come from you. You send the sunshine and the rain, and it is through your love and care that we enjoy the harvest time. Thank you for providing so richly for our needs and help us to share the good things we have with those who have little or nothing. 

Minister: Lord in your mercy

All: Hear our prayer

Minister: Lord we pray for your blessing on every kind of harvest that we enjoy. Thank you for the harvest of the land and the sea. Bless too the harvest of factory, mine and workshop. Bless the harvest of research and of creative art. May we work together with you in every area of life to produce what is worthwhile, good and fruitful. May you be glorified in it all.

Minister: Lord in your mercy

All: Hear our prayer

Bring to fruition Creator God, the work of your kingdom in our lives. Make us part of that joyful harvest in which your loving purpose is completed. Help us to realise how important the smallest words and deeds are. Thank you for others who have set before us an example of true Christian living and who have sown the seeds of faith hope and love in our lives. 

Lord we pray for your blessing on every kind of harvest that we enjoy. Thank you for the harvest of the land and the sea. Bless too the harvest of factory and mine and workshop. Bless the harvest of research and of creative art. May we work together with you in every area of life to produce what is worthwhile, good and fruitful. May you be glorified in it all. 

Thanksgiving 

Let us give thanks to God,

the God of all peoples of the earth.

For the colour and forms of your creation

and our place within it,

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

For our daily food,

and for those whose work and skill

bring your good gifts to us,

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

For the gifts and graces inspired in human minds and hearts;

for insight and imagination,

for the skills of research

which bring healing and fulfilment to the lives of many;

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

For the light and shades of the changing seasons,

and their variety and dependability;

for new life and growth out of barrenness and decay;

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

For new hope and strength in our communities,

especially in your Church and among all you call to serve you,

we bring our thanks, good Lord;

your mercy endures for ever.

For all in whose lives we see

goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience and humility,

and all the fruit of the Spirit,

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

For the life we have been given,

and for all those whom you have given us to share it,

we bring our thanks, good Lord:

your mercy endures for ever.

Confession

Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and for whom

the whole universe was created,

we mourn with you the death of forests, 

fruitful lands that have become deserts,

wild animals left without grass,

plants, insects, birds and animals threatened with extinction,

lands ravaged by war, people left homeless.

As the earth cries out for liberation,

we confess our part in bringing it to the point of disaster. 

Through ignorance, often wilfully,

we have thought that we could serve both God and ourselves.

We were unable to resist the temptation

to spend and buy more and more, 

with little thought to future generations.

Saviour of the World, you call us to repentance, 

so as we confess these sins, 

may we be transformed by your love

and play our part in transforming your world.

The minister will proclaim the words of forgiveness.

Confession

God forgive us, for the destruction

which we bring upon this world and all who live in it.

You have entrusted this world into our care,

forgive us for the way in which we destroy and pollute,

and fail to protect the precious resources which we have.

Forgive us when the power of the human mind

is used wastefully, and destructively,

whilst millions are in need of skills

to bring them clean water and basic medicine.

Forgive us when we fail to speak out for justice for all people.

Forgive us when we are tempted to despair

at the size of the problems

and the seeming insignificance of our own contribution.

Strengthen our faith, hope and trust

in the miracle of your redeeming love.

This we ask in the name of your Son,

our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The minister will proclaim the words of forgiveness.

Confession

We confess our sin, and the sins of our society,

in the misuse of God’s creation.

God our Father, we are sorry

for the times when we have used your gifts carelessly,

and acted ungratefully.

Hear our prayer, and in your mercy:

Allforgive us and help us.

We enjoy the fruits of the harvest,

but sometimes forget that you have given them to us.

Father, in your mercy:

Allforgive us and help us.

We belong to a people who are full and satisfied,

but ignore the cry of the hungry.

Father, in your mercy:

Allforgive us and help us.

We are thoughtless,

and do not care enough for the world you have made.

Father, in your mercy:

Allforgive us and help us.

We store up goods for ourselves alone,

as if there were no God and no heaven.

Father, in your mercy:

Allforgive us and help us.

Intercessions

Praise (Based on psalm 8)

God, when we think about your creation, we’re amazed;

We walk through a masterpiece every day.

Your imagination has created such beauty.

We can never come to the end of your wonders.

How incredible it is that you’ve trusted us to take care 

Of your prized possession!

You’ve shown us how to sustain life:

Help us to use this knowledge for the good of your world, 

The benefit of your people and the glory of your name.

We praise you, painter of creation’s harvests! (Christian Aid) 

God, you are more generous than the most loving parent; yet we depend on the harvests of other lands, and the labours of people of many races. Make us grateful for what they do for us; help us to trade in such a way that we may not exploit others, and to share our plenty with those in need; that none may go hungry while your earth yields so abundantly. Amen

Father God, give to all who work the land, wisdom to understand your laws, and to co-operate with your wise ordering of the world: and grant that the bountiful fruits of the earth may not be hoarded by the selfish or squandered by the foolish, but that all who work may share abundantly in the harvest of the soil. Amen

Forgive us Lord, for thinking of ourselves more than others; for eating too much without considering those who have nothing at all; for our lack of diligence in searching for ways to share our riches with the hungry and the thirsty. Your Son came to earth that everyone might be blessed and forgiveness offered to the penitent. Amen

May God the Father bless you, who first sowed the seeds of eternal life in your hearts, may God the Son bless you, who nurtures you with the rain and sunshine of love; may God the Holy Spirit bless you, who brings us all to fruition; and may the blessing of God Almighty be among you and remain with you always. Amen

The whole creation is suffering, and cries out with pain. Our sin affects the world of nature and the harvest it yields. Let us confess our sins against God and God's creation. After Michael Counsell

Lord Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life; grant us never to stray from you, for you are the way; never to distrust you, for you are the truth; and never to rest in anything except you, for you are the life. Teach us what to believe, what to do and where we should take our rest; and this we ask for your love’s sake. Amen. Desiderus Erasmus 1467-1536 

Look upon us in your mercy, O Lord, and take away our sins. Be to us both our reward and our redeemer, and defend us against all adversities that may assault us in body or soul; through Christ our Lord. Amen. St Ireneaus, c.130-200 

Ubuntu: a prayer for humanness. Loving God, who in Jesus willingly took on human form, come to us again in the flesh, so that in your humanity we may recognise the humanity of others. In these days, when so many feel rejected because they are HIV or have AIDS, speak to us and assure us of your presence so that we may be there for all who call on us. Lord, who dares to call us your friends, touch us with the hands of friendship so that we may reach out to those who feel untouchable. Touch us with that second touch of healing and wholeness of sight so that we may see others as you see them and offer your healing power to these your sisters and brothers. Spirit of love and life, breathe into us your compassion and care so that we may reach out in this place to touch and to share your love with all. Daphne and Demetris Palos, South Africa 

"My sisters the birds, much are you beholden to God your Creator, and always and in every place should you praise him. He has given you the freedom to fly wherever you wish and he has clothed you so fully. Moreover he preserved your kind in the ark of Noah so that you might not die out. Again, you are beholden to him for the very air that he has given to you. Furthermore, you do not sow nor reap yet God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains from which you drink, He gives you mountains and valleys as places of refuge and the tall trees in which to build your nests. Because you do not know how to sew or spin, God clothes you and your young: you can see how much God loves you in that he gives you so much. Guard yourselves therefore my sisters the birds from the sin of ingratitude and be ever mindful to give praise to God." From The Little Flowers of St. Francis. 

"For this I thank you, that you have created me in your image, and placed your wonders under my hands, so that I may know them and rejoice in the works of your Creation. I pray to you, eternal God, give me understanding and wisdom, that I might not misuse your creation but make use of it only for my needs, for the good of my neighbour, myself and my family. Give me gratitude for all your gifts, so that my mind does not say: 'This is mine, I have bought it. I will possess it alone. I am noble with it, majestic and beautiful; It belongs to me because of this honour and glory.' All this comes from the devil and the grievous fall of Adam." Jacob Boehme. The Way to Christ. 

Lord, may I love all thy creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. May I love the animals: thou hast given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Let me not harass them; let me not deprive them of their happiness; let me not work against thy intent. For I acknowledge unto thee that all is like an ocean - flowing and blending - and that to withhold any measure of from anything in thy universe is to withhold that same measure from thee. (Adapted from The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.)