Patrick Comerford
As we prepare for Harvest Thanksgiving Services in parishes throughout the united dioceses, these are some resources that may be helpful:
Readings (Year A):
Deuteronomy 8: 7-18:
The people of Israel are exhorted that when they prosper materially they are not forget the Lord their God.
Psalm 65:
All creation gives praise to God, who is the hope of all the ends of the earth and who crowns the year with goodness.
2 Corinthians 9: 6-15
Christians are instructed to give thankfully and cheerfully to God’s work. They are not to do so grudgingly.
Luke 17: 11-19
Only one of ten lepers healed by Jesus returned to thank him and he was a Samaritan.
Collect:
Eternal God,
you crown the year with your goodness
and 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 our own well-being;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord of the harvest,
with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation
and have shared in the bread and wine of the kingdom.
By your grace plant within us such reverence
for all that you give us
that will make us wise stewards the of the good things we enjoy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Note: material from the Book of Common Prayer (2004) is copyright © the Representative Church Body.
Hymns:
In the Church Hymnal, Hymns 37-47 are identified specifically as being suitable for Harvest:
37: Come, ye thankful people, come.
38: Father, blessing every seed-time
39: For the fruits of his creation
40: Father of mercies, God of love
41: God, whose farm is all creation
42: Good is the Lord, our heavenly king
43: Holy is the seed-time, when the buried grain
44: Praise and thanksgiving
45: Praise, O praise our God and king
46: Tá an fómhar seo go haerach, céad buíochas le hÍosa
47: We plough the fields and scatter
In addition, the hymns in the following section, Care for the Created Order (48-50), and the preceding section, God’s World (23-36), may be helpful in planning.
Bishop Edward Darling’s book, Sing to the Word (Oxford: OUP, 2000), recommends the following hymns in connection with the readings for Year A:
Deuteronomy 8: 7-18:
42: Good is the Lord, our heavenly king
647: Guide me, O thou great Jehovah 539: Rejoice, O land, in God thy might.
557: Rock of ages, cleft for me.
Psalm 65:
612:Eternal Father, strong to save.
645: Father, hear the prayer we offer
42: Good is the Lord, our heavenly king
581: I, the Lord of sea and sky.
709: Praise the Lord! You heavens, adore him
2 Corinthians 9: 6-15
10: All my hope on God is founded
38: Father, blessing every seed-time
40: Father of mercies, God of love
363: O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
47: We plough the fields and scatter
Luke 17: 11-19
92: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
211: Immortal love for ever full
361: Now thank we all our God
104: O for a thousand tongues to sing
366: Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
373: To God be the glory! Great things he has done!
Resources:
USPG Harvest Resources:
The Diocese of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert is working closely with USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), one of the oldest Anglican mission agencies.
This year’s harvest resources from USPG for churches and schools is looking at Harvest in a changing climate.
What would you do if there was not going to be a harvest?
This is the dilemma currently facing many communities in Madagascar.
Drought and torrential rains have washed away farmland and depleted nutrients in the soil.
This means the land can no longer yield a healthy harvest. At the same time in coastal regions, rising sea temperatures have reduced fish stocks, so fishermen must venture out into deeper and more dangerous waters.
However, the church is responding with emergency aid and with training in preparation for future disasters. And in helping communities generate an income – so they can buy food.
This Harvest, USPG is inviting you and your church to find out more about the issue of climate justice in Madagascar and around the world.
This is also an opportunity to make a donation that will save lives.
The resources available online from USPG include:
USPG Harvest 2017 PowerPoint (for use with sermon, all-age talk or primary school talk)
USPG Harvest sermon 2017 (PDF)
USPG Harvest all-age or primary school talk 2017 (PDF)
USPG Harvest 2017 prayer meditation (film)
USPG Harvest 2017 Bible study (Word)
Faith in a Changing Climate advocacy and resource pack
Harvest and Children’s Ministry:
The Children’s Ministry Newsletter includes ‘back to school’ prayers, suggestions on making children feel welcome, recommended resources and a sample programme plan for children’s activities, and creative approaches to telling Bible stories.
The Children’s Ministry Network representative in these dioceses is the Revd Canon Jane Galbraith.
Christian Aid Ireland:
This year’s Harvest resources from Christian Aid Ireland include a Harvest Appeal poster, factsheet, prayer card, prayer sheet, sermon notes, a draft order of service, an all-age talk, an all-age presentation, and a children’s harvest activity sheet.
Some intercessions that may be helpful:
Let us pray for our world and all the people in it.
We pray for ourselves as we celebrate the harvest.
We are thankful for the good things that have come to us.
We may not till the fields, but we have been busy all year,
whether in workshops or at workstations,
in the office, the shop, the kitchen,
the community or the classroom.
Our achievements have been both great and small,
but all are of value and we thank God for them.
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those for whom there is no harvest;
those who have no work
or who are dispossessed by acts of war or natural disaster.
We pray for all those for whom life
is a struggle against starvation, disease, terror or oppression.
We pray for the wisdom to husband the earth’s resources wisely
and to hand them on to the next generation in good order.
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
We pray for our Church, its clergy and its leaders,
that the will of the Lord may be done.
We pray for all people of faith throughout the world
that they may live in mutual respect and harmony.
May we be recognised as Christians by our love
and not be ashamed to confess our faith.
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
We pray for the sick in body and mind
and for those who care for them;
may they be comforted and strengthened in their troubles.
We pray especially for any known to us
who are in special need of our prayers at this time.
We remember them now and lift them to the Lord in a moment of silence ...
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
a light which no darkness can quench.
We remember before God those who have died
and light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ,
which eternally shines and brings hope.
We remember ...
You turn our darkness into light: in your light shall we see light.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Photographs:
To illustrate parish newsletters, bulletins, notices or harvest service sheets, you may click on any of these photograph and download it for use. But please state, Photograph: Patrick Comerford.
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