Good Morning Brown Clee!

Today I would like us to think about the Harvest and why it is so special.  Normally, at this time of year we would walk up to church and hold our Harvest Festival in our beautiful village church, led by Reverend Terry, but sadly we are not able to do that this year.

So instead we will celebrate together here instead – and I thought a Harvest Quiz would be a good idea!  The quiz will teach you about the history and importance of celebrating the Harvest Festival, and hopefully at the end everyone will have learnt something new!  It is relatively simple – you only need answer yes – or no!  So you could put your thumbs up for Yes – and thumbs down for No!

Q1. Is harvest festival named after the time when the crops have been harvested?

Q2. Is harvest festival a celebration of the food grown on the land?

Q3. In the UK, are harvest festivals in churches traditionally timed to coincide with a new moon appearing at the end of September or the start of October?

Q4. Do harvest festivals in churches give Christians a chance to thank God for the food we eat?

Q5. A long time ago, in the UK, was harvest festival celebrated in August?

Q6. During the 1800s, did farmers celebrate the end of the harvest by eating a harvest supper of roast chicken?

Q7. Did the first harvest festival in a church happen in the year 1743?

Q8. Did the first harvest festival in a church happen in Cornwall?

Q9. Hundreds of years ago, when the last farm worker brought in the last sheaf of corn, was that worker called the king of the harvest?

Q10. Are corn dollies traditionally made out of wheat?

Q11. To celebrate the harvest in Mexico, are the trees next to the church decorated?

Q12. In France, do harvest festivals celebrate the vegetable harvest?

Q13. Is the harvest festival celebrated in the Jewish festival of Sukkot?

Q14. In Alaska, is the harvest celebrated at the end of the cod-fishing season?

Q15. Do people in Barbados celebrate the sugar cane harvest?

How did you do?

Harvest Festival is an important celebration in the Christian calendar, and it helps us to be thankful for all the farmers and agricultural workers around the world that work so hard to ensure that we all have food on our plates.  It also helps us to appreciate how fortunate we are to have plentiful food, and helps remind us that there are many people who are not that fortunate.

If you would like to make any dry food donations to Bridgnorth Food Bank then please donate the Ditton Priors Post Office – particularly in the current situation, every donation really helps!

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for the sunshine and the rain, which help crops to grow in the fields.
Thank you for all the farmers who grow, look after and harvest the food that we eat.
Thank you for all the adults who cook and provide us with food when we are hungry.
We pray for children in the world today who are hungry. Please help us to play our part in making the world a fairer place for all.
Amen.