It was a lovely service on a lovely autumn morning at St. Oswald’s today. Here is an extract from the special Harvest Liturgy we used.
Harvest Liturgy
The heavens declare the glory of God
The skies display the work of his hands
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth
The Harvest Collect
Creator God,
you made the goodness of the land,
the riches of the sea
and the rhythm of the seasons;
as we thank you for the harvest,
may we cherish and respect
this planet and its peoples,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Confession
God has blessed us,
but still God’s children go hungry.
God has blessed us,
but still the poor cry out for justice.
God has blessed us,
but still we see inequality and oppression in the earth.
God of creation we bring to you our unwillingness to share your plenty.
Forgive us we pray and give us time and grace to change our ways.
Almighty God…
Praise
For our seeing of the beauty around us
For hearing of birdsong and the murmur of the breeze
For our touching of cool water and for our wam homes
For the taste of the food we eat
For the smell of autumn days and fresh bread
For your world which fills our lives with blessings.
We praise you Lord for our senses
And your blessings which fill them each day. Amen
We believe:
By faith
I gaze up to the heavens
and know, within its vastness
that this is your creation,
planned and effected within eternity
By faith
I pluck an ear of corn
and know, within its symmetry
lies the chemistry of life
the potential of creation within my hand
By faith
I listen for your voice
and know the whisper that I hear
breathed a world into existence
yet listens to the prayer within my soul
By faith
I strive to do your will
and know the door that I approach
may lead me to shadows
where my role is to become your light
By faith
I cling to your word and know the strength that I receive
has its source within the love
that is at the centre of all things
Listen to these words from Christina Rossetti ((1830-1894)) and think about them for a moment:
‘Lord, purge our eyes to see
within the seed, a tree,
Within the glowing egg, a bird,
Within the shroud, a butterfly,
Til, taught by such, we see
beyond all creatures, thee.’
Intercessions
Creator God, for daily bread
and all who work to bring your harvest home
we bring our thanks today.
Forgive our ingratitude
we who have so much yet waste what you have given.
For those whose harvest is poor,
whose crops have withered,
water tainted, children starve,
help those who bring relief
and bestow on us
an unaccustomed generosity,
that all might share from your garden
and all might sing your praise.
Creator God, provider of all
we bring our thanks today.
And we bless each other
that the beauty of this world
and the love that created it
might be expressed though our lives
and be a blessing to others
now and always AMEN