Harvest is one of the great traditional festivals of farming and faith communities. A time of thanksgiving for crops safely gathered in, it has been celebrated for centuries with song, dance and food.
Many churches host harvest services and suppers and see it as a time of giving – whether fruit and vegetables from the fields or tins from the kitchen cupboard.
Harvest Festival at St Mary Magdalene’s, Pulham Market, is from 11am on Sunday September 22. Churchwarden Tony Gray said: “The church is always decorated. The flower team do a special range of flower arrangements and we have various foods about the church and wheatsheaves at the end of pews.
“Food donations are brought up during the service and given to the Waveney food bank.”
After the family-focused service there is a harvest lunch in the Pulham Market Memorial Hall with the food prepared by church members.
Tony said harvest festival brings extra people to church. “I think the sense of community and the lunch are key. We also try to make the service engaging,” he said. “We live among a farming community and so we get many non-regulars at harvest. In a rural community it is an excellent opportunity to draw people into church.”
However, Pulham Market’s food based ministry is not just for harvest. It also has a ‘fair share cupboard’ in which people put food for those in need and hosts a fortnightly lunch for older members of the community.
Harvest events across the Dickleburgh and the Pulhams benefice include the service and lunch at Pulham Market from 11.30am on Sunday September 22, a harvest bring and share service at Dickleburgh from 11am on Sunday October 6 and the harvest festival service at Starston at 5pm on October 6.
And looking ahead to Saturday November 23 there is a chance to make Christmas Puddings at Pulham St Mary – with Father Christmas!
Picture: Philip Halling, Creative Commons