The county harvest festival was held in the Cathedral yesterday with farmers coming together to offer thanks to God and celebrate rural life.
The service was organised by the Chaplaincy for Agriculture and Rural Life (CARL). Young Farmers from clubs across the County brought offerings of different gifts to the altar and there were prayers focussing on the concerns of a range of organisations involved in farming and rural life. There was also a collection for the Farmers’ Overseas Action Group, which supports the lives of some of the most vulnerable families in rural Uganda.
The Very Revd Sarah Brown, Dean of Hereford and former head of the Farming Community Network offered an address during the service. She said:
“This service is all about thanking God but also thanking farmers. God offers us the grain and invites us to plant it. He wants us to till the ground while he sends the rain and collect the harvest while he sends the sunshine…hopefully! God wants us to be partners in creation; to nurture it as it nurtures us. The bible is very clear that food is a gift, although it isn’t seen that way by many people today. What difference would it make if we received food not as a commodity, but as a gift of love. It is the farming community which still has that sense of connection to the land. Farming is really hard work, but farmers love the land, and it is important for us to say thank you for being part of God’s gift and the miracle of our daily bread.”
Jim Hidderley, Vice Chair of CARL said: “Farmers, faith and the earth are all connected and celebrating that connection and celebrating the work of farmers through harvest festivals is more important than it ever has been. So many farming communities are now at the fringe of society, and we have lost sight of where our food comes from, as well as the fact that God is the ultimate creator.”
