October Thoughts from Trish
Across the parishes in our United Benefice harvest will be celebrated in all the churches during the early weeks in October. It will be celebrated in many ways – decorating the churches, special services including harvest hymns, collecting and distributing harvest gifts across the parish and sharing harvest lunches and suppers.
And it is not just in our local parishes that harvest will be celebrated. It will be celebrated across the country and indeed across the world - though the celebrations may happen at different times. Harvest celebrations transcend cultures and religions and are celebrated everywhere – even in countries where it seems there is little to be thankful for.
In our own rural parishes farming is not as widespread as it was just a few years ago, though many traditional farms remain. Yet despite the fact that we don’t grow as much food in our own country as we used to, our supermarket shelves are heaving with diverse and varied foods.
We have only to glance at the supermarket shelves to see that we benefit from the harvest not only of our own country but countries across the world. We have fruits and vegetables – not only when they are in season but throughout the year. There is an amazing array that even I would not have dreamed of when I was a child in the 1950s. I remember that strawberries were a treat for just a few weeks of the year; but now with the development of different varieties and imports from Spain they can be enjoyed throughout most of the year.
However, the range of foods that are available and a host of other goods as well, come at a price – not just to ourselves in monetary terms but with unseen costs to those in the countries where they are grown, prepared, manufactured and during transportation.
You may recall the tragedy of the cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay, a decade ago here in our own country. But stories of dangerous exploitation of workers continue to abound. Closer to home, you may know farmers struggling to make a living as they are challenged further and further by supermarkets keen to have competitive prices Or, you may have heard about villages across the world, whose water supply has been diverted to irrigate crops that they will never have a chance to taste or benefit from economically.
There are no easy answers to this. Trying to make ethical shopping choices in a global economy is complex and challenging.
So, am I suggesting a return to subsistence farming? No! God gave us the beauty and abundance of the earth to enjoy. However, such a profusion of choice brings responsibility and requires us to be guardians of the earth and its people for now and for the generations to come. An ancient Cree Indian proverb tells us that “Only when the last tree has died and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”
Our harvest hymns call us to be “thankful people” – thankful to God and thankful to each other. We can show our thankfulness by considering the cost – not only to ourselves but all those involved in food production or harvesting in its widest sense across the world; we can choose wisely and use sparingly the precious commodities that are available to us. Above all we can remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” and act accordingly.
God bless you all at this harvest time
Trish
Across the parishes in our United Benefice harvest will be celebrated in all the churches during the early weeks in October. It will be celebrated in many ways – decorating the churches, special services including harvest hymns, collecting and distributing harvest gifts across the parish and sharing harvest lunches and suppers.
And it is not just in our local parishes that harvest will be celebrated. It will be celebrated across the country and indeed across the world - though the celebrations may happen at different times. Harvest celebrations transcend cultures and religions and are celebrated everywhere – even in countries where it seems there is little to be thankful for.
In our own rural parishes farming is not as widespread as it was just a few years ago, though many traditional farms remain. Yet despite the fact that we don’t grow as much food in our own country as we used to, our supermarket shelves are heaving with diverse and varied foods.
We have only to glance at the supermarket shelves to see that we benefit from the harvest not only of our own country but countries across the world. We have fruits and vegetables – not only when they are in season but throughout the year. There is an amazing array that even I would not have dreamed of when I was a child in the 1950s. I remember that strawberries were a treat for just a few weeks of the year; but now with the development of different varieties and imports from Spain they can be enjoyed throughout most of the year.
However, the range of foods that are available and a host of other goods as well, come at a price – not just to ourselves in monetary terms but with unseen costs to those in the countries where they are grown, prepared, manufactured and during transportation.
You may recall the tragedy of the cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay, a decade ago here in our own country. But stories of dangerous exploitation of workers continue to abound. Closer to home, you may know farmers struggling to make a living as they are challenged further and further by supermarkets keen to have competitive prices Or, you may have heard about villages across the world, whose water supply has been diverted to irrigate crops that they will never have a chance to taste or benefit from economically.
There are no easy answers to this. Trying to make ethical shopping choices in a global economy is complex and challenging.
So, am I suggesting a return to subsistence farming? No! God gave us the beauty and abundance of the earth to enjoy. However, such a profusion of choice brings responsibility and requires us to be guardians of the earth and its people for now and for the generations to come. An ancient Cree Indian proverb tells us that “Only when the last tree has died and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”
Our harvest hymns call us to be “thankful people” – thankful to God and thankful to each other. We can show our thankfulness by considering the cost – not only to ourselves but all those involved in food production or harvesting in its widest sense across the world; we can choose wisely and use sparingly the precious commodities that are available to us. Above all we can remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” and act accordingly.
God bless you all at this harvest time
Trish
