How to welcome more families at Harvest

HARVEST FESTIVAL IS A RELATIVELY recent addition to the annual cycle of worship, emerging from the Victorian era, when the local church and community would be drawn together to celebrate all that God had provided.

In recent years, churches have begun to use Harvest themes to think about the stewardship of the earth, environmental concerns, collecting for foodbanks and homeless organisations.

It’s a great time to connect with families, especially those who have begun an amazing journey of faith at baptism. It’s a time to think about gratitude and thanksgiving, and a time to think about compassion and justice as well as recognising God’s generous love in creation.

Church and non-church schools alike, along with other community groups and national charities such as Tearfund, often produce resources to link Harvest time with fundraising and awareness. These resources can be a great help to churches as they plan and prepare for their Harvest services.

Publicise your Harvest service

• Select from the Autumn collection of free editorial available here on the Church Support Hub to help you promote your Harvest service and its themes.
• Use your contacts list to invite recently baptised children and their families, as well as the wider community. Put up posters around the community.

Ideas for your service

• You might find this full service outline helpful – includes suggestions for prayers and a talk.
• A giant tree poster has all sorts of prayerful uses, but may be particularly appropriate for a Harvest Festival during the season of falling leaves. Cut-out leaves can be used for prayer – every person might write on a leaf what they’re thankful to God for and place it on the tree.
• You might like to combine your Harvest service with the Church of England’s Generosity Week, which has loads of resources to help congregations think about their giving.

Resources from charities

• Christian Aid resources may help you to focus on the theme of poverty relief.
• The Church Urban Fund’s Just Finance Foundation campaigns on behalf of those in financial distress. CUF also has a Harvest Appeal and other resources for getting involved in social action projects.
• Action against poverty campaigner Tearfund offers several harvest resource packs online, including prayer videos.