Yesterday was our Harvest Festival

First Fruits?
Yesterday was our Harvest Festival and many people donated fruit, flowers, vegetables, tins and packets of food to be displayed during the Service. Today we sorted them into bags, bouquets and boxes to be handed out either, in the case of the fruit and flowers, to members of the church who are unwell or frail, or, as in the case of the tins and packets, to be delivered to a charity that doles them out to the needy.

All very well, but when I checked the 'Use-by' dates on the tins and packets I was amazed, flabbergasted and disappointed to find that several of the items were well out of date. In fact one jar of mincemeat was date-stamped 'Jan. '95'!!!

Now, forgive me if I'm being a little fussy, but I always thought that what you brought for the Harvest Table was a gift to God, no matter what the end use would be in distribution terms. That being the case, should it not be the very best that could be given, rather than what was found at the back of the cupboard on a clear-out day?

What do you think?