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Berwick St James’ Harvest Service

October has seen the Benefice celebrating Harvest across all of our churches, and on Sunday the 18th it was the turn of Berwick St. James.  During these otherwise difficult times, it was a joy to be able to celebrate and thank God for the yield and beauty associated with this season. That joy was shared with a very pleasing turnout (we were 19 altogether) and we were treated to a church decorated with flowers and produce in a way that paid fitting tribute to the colours of Autumn.  In the porch, the wheelbarrow was generously filled with non-perishable items for the Salisbury Women’s Refuge, to which was taken also the fresh produce from inside the church.  Martin Gairdner played our hymns while we nodded along, and Charles and Nicky Street read for us.  And as harvest is not complete without replanting for the following year, the congregation took away tulip bulbs - I look forward to hearing how they fare.

May we carry the delight of Autumn’s bounty with us through the Winter, knowing that nature’s reseeding has already begun.

Yvonne Allen

A Harvest Collect:

Holy God, creator, sustainer and renewer of life,
Grant that, secure in your goodness in the past,
and rejoicing that you meet our needs in the present,
we may work and pray for the coming of your future
Kingdom, which is peace and prosperity, justice and joy;
through Jesus Christ, who lived and died and was raised to life that all may share.
Amen

The Harvest services across the Benefice have been well-attended considering the difficulties of the moment and there have been generous donations to the Trussell Trust-Salisbury Foodbank for which we are very grateful. Great Wishford Primary School also remembered Harvest in their Collective Worship and class reflections.