As we do in harvest, we should take stock of what we are fortunate to have

As long as I can remember, there has been a tradition in the Church of Scotland, and in other denominations, to hold a service every Autumn in which we give thanks to God for the Harvest.

As a child, I remember growing up in a fairly urban setting, and the practice there was to bring produce to the church usually tins of foodstuffs, and after the service food parcels would be made up and distributed to the more elderly members of the congregation. This was the practice when I came to East Kilbride Old Parish almost twenty years ago.

Through time however, we began to question this method of distribution, as often we were taking a food parcel to people who were more than able to fill their own cupboards, and so we decided that every year we would nominate two charities, one near home and one international and we would give donations to these charities in thanksgiving for all that we have received.

Even in the midst of this pandemic, we have our dedicated charities which this year are: “Loaves and Fish es ,” an East Kilbride based charity and “Christian Aid,” which brings aid to people all across the world. I have no doubt that our folks will give generously as always.

In the Old Parish, we still have a number of members who come from the farming community, and as chaplain to Auldhouse Primary School, over the years I have been part of their annual Harvest Thanksgiving service, where they bring produce and the school enables them to share it with others.

In the bible, way back in Old Testament days, giving thanks for the Harvest and sharing it with others was a dominant theme. In Deuteronomy it says that after bringing in the harvest, a tenth of your produce should be given to “the alien, the fatherless and the orphan”.

So, God’s people down through the centuries, have always taken time to give thanks for the Harvest and shared it with others.

The phrase, “the alien, the fatherless and the orphan” is obviously a very outdated kind of notion, but I wonder who in our society today would be thought of in these terms.

We all have our particular charities which we support, and I think that whatever they might be, they would include the spirit of “the alien, the fatherless and the orphan” in that they would reach out to all who are in need.

So, this coming Sunday our virtual service will have a Harvest theme.

We will hear and sing the wellloved harvest hymns like “We plough the fields and scatter” and hear some thoughts about thanksgiving and sharing.

“It is a time for all of us in the midst of these difficult times to take stock of what we have, give thanks to God for it, and resolve to be better stewards of it, and to share wherever we can.

“Maybe that’s not just a message for a Harvest Thanksgiving service, but for every day of our lives.”