Parish magazine article October 2025
Harvest - as I drove out of Hereford, I was struck by the hard work that is going on in the countryside around the city. Straw is being collected from the fields, in some places silage is being cut and in others harvesting continues. When we were in Devon the celebration of Harvest took place across our villages from the end of August through to early October. Here in Hereford the pattern is similar, and our rural multi parish benefices are now beginning to celebrate Harvest.
The modern harvest festival celebrations that we know today was introduced in the Cornish parish of Morwenstow in 1843 by Rev Robert Hawker. Hawker was quite the eccentric and also on occasions was reputed to have dressed up as a mermaid! He invited his parishioners to a Harvest service as he wanted to give thanks to God for providing such plenty. However, this was to counter the festivities and merriment of much more ancient pagan celebrations, and he was keen to turn his parishioners towards a Christian celebration of harvest. The Christian Harvest celebrations that Hawker wanted to connect with were based on what he saw in the Old Testament, and he drew on the Jewish festival of Sukkot or feast of Tabernacles.
“You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first fruits of your labour, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour.”
Exodus 23:16
Even today with modern farming methods It is still an opportunity to give thanks to God for his provision for us and an opportunity to share with generosity the riches we have received. Paul was very clear in his teaching that generosity begins in our hearts and is a reflection of the gratitude we have towards God for what he has done for us. Generosity is not something we have to be coerced into but instead it is something freely given. We perhaps need this reminder because our wealth and belongings ultimately belong to God, and we are simply stewards of what we have.
“So, I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:5-7
Our harvest services should reflect this attitude of generosity because it points to what is at the heart of our faith that God has given us new life in Jesus freely and without condition. This is the grace of God at work in our lives. However, as Christians we are also called to work in God’s harvest field. Jesus in his teaching told the disciples that they were called to be labourers in the Kingdom.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:36-38
As disciples we are called to share the good news of the Kingdom and to help bring in God’s harvest of new followers of Jesus. These are the disciples that Jesus calls us to make in the Great Commission, and it is part of our role not simply to make converts but to mentor and coach the next generation. We need to see the harvest not just in terms of crops, fruit and vegetables but as a spiritual reality that sees us offer the story of Jesus to a world in need.
The Venerable Derek Chedzey
Archdeacon of Hereford