Today is the 4th October, it is the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and we celebrate our Harvest Festival. In Eddleston and Peebles we are close to the Agricultural and Pastoral communities around us.
As the Church Bells ring out from the steeple of the Old Parish, we are called to worship the God of the Harvest. Today we needs must worship in our own homes, you’ll see some images of church harvest past, along with other pictures.
Harvest
Provided by the Flower Committee
And a tropical sunshine harvest too!
HYMN: Come, Ye thankful people, come
PRAYER
Eternal God,
Your everlasting mercy rises new each morning.
Give us grace to arise with Christ, who is our morning light.
May we walk by faith in him and, with a willing spirit, persevere to the end.
God of faithfulness,
Your generous love supplies us with the fruits of the earth in their season.
Give us grace to be thankful for your gifts, to use them wisely and to share our plenty with others.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
THE LORD'S PRAYER
LESSON
Reflection
HYMN: God whose Farm is all creation
PRAYER
Compassionate God, we thank you that we are known to you with all our faults and weaknesses and yet you still love us. We thank you for what we learn each year through the cycles of the harvest and the gathering of your earth’s rich bounty…that you have created the seasons for a purpose. There is a time to sew and a time to reap. We are reminded that we have a duty of stewardship of soil and seas - of the earth’s precious resources and our fellow creatures.
We also learn about ourselves and about each other and how to care for one another.
Help us to gaze on one another with the compassion and love of Christ - seeing Christ n one another, and trying always to do your will rather than following our own inclinations.
We pray for your pained world, in such need of your love and forgiveness.
We pray for all who suffer; be with them - and strengthen them. We think of those who are recovering from the ravages of the wild fires, from the rising spread of Covid-19 bringing new restrictions and hardship - from the aftermath of the recent explosions in Lebanon…. And all who languish in refugee camps. And we pray for those who are marching for peace and justice in the United States as elections approach.
We remember the bereaved and the injured, praying for those known to us who are undergoing medical treatment or awaiting diagnosis - for all who know the fear of the unknown and suffer the terror of uncertainty…. For the lonely - and for those who are simply searching for meaning in their lives.
Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
PRAYER IN TIME OF CRISIS
Lord Jesus,
In the midst of a storm, You said, ‘Peace, be still’.
Bid our anxious fears subside.
Sustain your church in faith, hope and love.
Bring our nation, and our world through this tumult.
Grant wisdom to those with heavy responsibilities,
And healing and hope to all those who are infected.
Amen.
HYMN: We plough the fields and scatter
BENEDICTION
May God, who is the ground of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you lead the life of faith until, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may overflow with hope.
And the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you
today, and in all the days to come. AMEN
Thank you everyone for a lovely Harvest service. If we can’t be together in church this brings us all together. Well done Andrew and the choir. Lovely to hear you all. Willie you deserve a medal for all your work.
Absolutely beautiful service and thankyou to all those who contributed .
Lovely service. Thanks to all. Our Choir was the best yet.
Wasn’t the choir wonderful?
Well done to all concerned. What’s next?
A beautiful and creative Harvest service for us to enjoy and feel part of. Heartwarming to see the photos of harvest flowers and hear the singing, especially Andrew and our choir. You are all working wonders x
What a joy to wake to this Harvest service this morning!
Thank you everyone who contributed, particularly the wonderful solo from Andrew.. and the choir having made their individual recordings which all came together so well. Thank you, Sarah and the choir and particularly enjoyed seeing the choir on Zoom and hearing them reminiscing about so many years of faithful service.
Particular thanks, as always, to Willie for bringing these services together and to John providing so much new worship input. Looking forward to our Evening Services too.
Thanks too, to David MacFarlane, for another excellent edition of our monthly Magazine. What a team! Bless you all, pamela