At our Plough Sunday service over the years, we gathered to bless not only a plough but also the tools of our various trades and pastimes. Gardeners brought secateurs and trowels, crafters brought knitting needles and crochet hooks, bakers brought their utensils, and farmers brought the tools of agriculture. Together, we asked God's blessing on the work of our hands in the year ahead. A few months later, at our Lamas service celebrating the first fruits of the harvest, a member of our Fradswell community brought along some beautiful rose hips. After the service, I took the rose hips home and saved the seeds. They were dried, re-hydrated and then kept in the fridge for several months to mimic the natural winter conditions they would experience outdoors. The process required patience. Through the autumn and winter there was very little to see and no guarantee of success. The seeds simply sat in vermiculite in the fridge while life carried on around them. Then, slowly, they began to germinate. Tiny shoots appeared, followed by the first leaves, and today there are well over one hundred healthy young rose plants growing on. As the seedlings developed, it seemed fitting that they should be shared. Young roses are now finding homes in gardens throughout the village, as well as at the Village Hall and the Old Rectory Residential Care Home. The project brought to mind another service held during 2025. At our Samhain service, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, acorns, apple pips and grains of wheat were distributed. Each tiny seed held at its heart the hope of future harvests, even though nothing could yet be seen. The rose seeds proved no different. For months they appeared lifeless, yet they were quietly preparing for the spring. What began as a handful of rose hips brought to church has become more than one hundred young plants now growing across the community. No two seedlings will be exactly the same. Some may become strong shrubs, others may produce flowers quite different from the parent plant. Their future remains unknown. Like all seeds, they carry the promise of something greater than themselves. 

Sarah Emery