Harvest Time: a time of plenty

Traditionally October is the month when many churches hold their Harvest Festival services, taking the opportunity to thank God for the richness of the harvest. How the services have changed over the years, generally speaking. When I was a boy the church would be resplendent with a vast array of fruit, vegetables and flowers, the centrepiece of the whole display being the Harvest Loaf, specially produced by the local bakery, and in the form of a wheat sheaf. After Harvest Festival Sunday was over the produce and the flowers would be distributed around the parish, particular attention being paid to the elderly in the distribution, and the destitute.


Nowadays you are more likely to see an array of packets and tins dominating the display, although there will still be a small quantity of fresh produce. In probably the majority of cases the harvest loaf is just that, a loaf of bread rather than the bread wheat sheaf of my youth. Perhaps some will try to make it a little different by placing a large cob loaf on display, but it's not the same really, is it?


Of course, the produce and flowers are still divided up for distribution on the Monday, but I postulate that having a box of cans and packets, with possibly a plastic bag which contains an apple, an orange and a few potatoes, is most definitely not as welcoming as a basket of fresh produce. When I was a boy it's true that far more folk grew the produce in their own gardens, which made the whole event more meaningful than simply popping down to the local Tesco, Asda or Morrisons, the latter having had the effect of perhaps reducing the overall impact on what was once one of the richest displays in the church calendar.


One other thing, learned from personal experience when helping to distribute packets and tins over the years, is that you must always check the expiry date stamped on the label or wrapper. The practise of bring fresh, home-grown produce from your garden afforded the opportunity to give the best to God, and also guaranteed that it was still fresh for days to come. I discovered that the same rule often were ignored when it came to giving a can or a packet, and that it was often just an opportunity to get rid of something that had lurked in the back of the cupboard far beyond its sell-by or use-by date. In fact, on many occasions I would find myself having to dispose of donated items that were so far out-of-date that you would not have been too surprised to find whiskers sprouting from them! These were items donated by people who just wanted to be rid of something whilst appearing to be generous at the same time. Not very worthy!


Aaah! bring back the wheat-sheaf loaf and the home-grown fruit, vegetables and flowers!