We are now past the Autumn Equinox and it definitely does feel that autumn is here. The virginia creeper that climbs over everything in my garden is beginning to turn red, and when I took an early morning train to London there was a beautiful, but very autumnal mist over the fields.
This week at our Harvest Festival we will give thanks for all God’s good gifts in creation, and think about our own giving – of time, of love and companionship, of our gifts and talents, as well as our gifts of money and food. It’s at this time of year that I start to think about Christmas and to plan our Christmas services, and perhaps there is a link. At Harvest we give thanks for God’s creation and all that we have because of it, especially the food that sustains our life.
But that food comes to us because of the hard and unremitting labour of those who grow and prepare it, reminding us of God saying to Adam as he left Eden, ‘by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.’ At Christmas we rejoice in the Incarnation, in God’s great gift of himself to us. And of course Jesus is the new Adam, the one who makes good the great rift between humans and God that Adam and Eve’s departure from Eden symbolises. So perhaps Harvest is the right time to start planning for Christmas, because it turns our minds to God’s generosity and helps us to look forward to the greatest gift of all.
This week I will be away as I am taking a few days of retreat, to read and pray. I will pray for you all, and if there is anything particularly you would like me to pray for, please let me know before I go on Sunday evening. While I’m away please get in touch with our churchwardens, Helen and Margaret, if there are any urgent matters that need dealing with. Father James will be taking Evensong this week, and also the 8am and 10am services on Sunday 3rd October.
with my prayers and blessings, Nicola