St Peters Church,
Boyatt Wood,
Eastleigh

Dear Friends

We only have to look around us to see how the season is changing. The early morning mist and dew, the colours of the trees and hedgerows with their autumnal hues of gold, red and brown are all signs that summer has passed and winter will soon be upon us.

For farmers, this has not been the best of summers, and as they harvest their crops, their yields are down due to the amount of rain we have had over the past few months. This will probably mean increased prices for the consumer. However, there will be sufficient food in the shops for all of us and for this we should be thankful for God’s goodness and mercy.

But we may also feel uncomfortable at Harvest time, as we only have to look at our television screens to see that there are people with no food to harvest, no fully stocked shops to fill their larders. As floods sweep through the countryside, crops and livestock are destroyed. At other times it may be drought that causes crops to fail.

We should never take things for granted. In the Bible, harvest and judgement go together. So, it is right for us to be thankful for all we have, but we also need to ask ourselves how we can help to make it possible for all humankind to be thankful.

Harvest is the time when we should be grateful for what we have, but also a time to reflect on how we can help those who have little to be thankful for in order that Gods Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Reader