November Reflection 

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, 

 In October we have seen wonderful thanksgiving celebrations in our churches for the Harvest and God’s Creation. These services have focused on gratitude for food and gifts, environmental stewardship and the importance of charity and sustainability. As we have given thanks for the harvest, we are called to consider our role in the environment and remember those who are hungry and in need and how food banks are essential resources for many families. We have been called to recognise our dependence on the natural world, the cycles of nature and the human effort involved in growing and providing food. We must also remember that, for many, harvest is not a reality but a hope and for people living in urban areas there is a disconnect between planting and growing and food appearing on supermarket shelves.

As I have been reflecting on how we can link the theme of a traditional harvest and caring for creation I came across a great book by Becky Hall, called The Art of Enough. This is how Becky describes it: enough is the state in which every single person on the planet can thrive- living with dignity, equality, and sufficient resources… without overshooting planetary boundaries. With enough, each of us learns how to live within the natural limits of our lives, and this sets us free to flourish. Enough, she says, is the wisdom to follow the natural patterns of growth, challenging the idea that growth is always about being bigger or having more. Enough is a state of being and way of living.

Many faiths tell us we need to live gently with the earth, to sit well with the world. The truth is we need to be humble. As the prophet Micah says in the Hebrew Scriptures “God has told you what is good and what is required of you: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God”. Something to ponder as we move into the next season……. 

 With the clocks now put back by one hour on Sunday 26th October we start to encounter darker nights and move into winter. Our churches prepare to commemorate All Soul’s Day on 2nd of November, Remembrance Sunday on the 9th of November and Armistice Day on the 11th of November. Although Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day are well recognised, All Soul’s Day seems to be less recognised in the secular world. So, as we remember loved ones departed, I would like to share these words from Julian of Norwich, which captures our fragility and even insignificance as humans, and God’s perfect love for each of us despite all that.

"Our Lord showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand. I looked at it and thought, ‘What can this be?’ And the answer came to me, ‘It is all that is made,’ I wondered how it could last, for it was so small I thought it might suddenly disappear. And the answer in my mind was, ‘It lasts and will last forever because God loves it; and in the same way everything exists through the love of God.’ "  Revelations of Divine Love.

May we all know the unconditional love of God. 

 Reverend Dawn

October Reflection 

The corn harvest was early this year and certainly in my garden the soft fruits ripened early and were over sooner than usual.

The fruits of the harvest have been celebrated worldwide over millennia and will vary from country to country depending upon which crop is of greatest significance. In some parts of Spain they celebrate the grape harvest, traditionally this is done by jumping into vats of grapes and stomping them barefoot. In Japan it is the rice harvest that is celebrated. At a festival known as “Oeshiki” people walk through the streets with massive lanterns, spinning them like helicopter blades. But while harvest traditions vary around the world, they all have something in common: thanksgiving. Whether it’s rice, grapes, or wheat, harvest time is when we pause to give thanks for what the land has produced.

In an age where food moves around the world so that we do not feel dependant on the success of the local crops, we often have little connection with the production of the food we consume. In years gone by and in areas where subsistence farming survives, the success or failure of crops can have immediate consequences for the local people.

Harvest is a time of thanksgiving for more than just food, it’s a time of thanksgiving and reflecting on all of God’s provision.

Throughout the Bible, harvest is mentioned over and over again, and it is not just about food. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus says, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’

Jesus wasn’t talking about grain or fruit here—He was talking about people. Jesus sees the world as a harvest field, and He’s calling us to be workers in it. There are people who are ready to hear the Good News, people who need to experience God’s love, and we’re the ones He’s calling to bring them in.

The Bible calls on us to be fruitful and this fruitfulness most often refers to the development of our character by which, in turn, we influence those around us. Each of our characters is constantly being shaped and formed by the world around us. Unlike the fruit trees in my garden who had no say in where and when they were planted, (I admit they are not all in ideal situations!) we have choices that we make each day that can affect the sort of person that we are becoming. Our choices become patterns, our patterns become habits, and our habits ultimately shape our characters.

We are not the same person we were a month, a year or ten years ago. One of the most important choices that we can make is to open ourselves up to the presence of God in our lives. It is the presence of God at work in us, shaping our characters that ultimately makes the real difference. And it is the presence of God that will enable the flourishing of the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to grow and to flourish even when the conditions of life feel arid or even hostile.

So, as we reflect on the harvest, let us think about what we’re harvesting in our own lives. Is it love, kindness and peace? Or have we been too distracted to even notice what God is growing around us?

And so we pray that whatever we may be facing at the moment, we will know that transforming presence of God with us, breathing the life of the Holy Spirit into us, and enabling us to choose wisely in the little things that enable us to flourish in all that we have been created to be.

Richard Byas (Reader)