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Harvest

Harvest Festival attracts some of the highest church attendances of the year. It’s another key opportunity to connect again with families who have recently-baptized children, and with the wider community. This page will offer ideas to extend your welcome and plan a service.

Why is Harvest such a big opportunity for welcome? Head of Life Events, the Revd Sandra Millar, reflects on the changing season of Harvest, and why it’s a great moment for follow-up:

The changing season of Harvest

PUBLICISING YOUR HARVEST SERVICE

These Articles are free to download and use in your parish magazine. The red-highlighted text can be edited, so you can add in your own details about up-and-coming Harvest services.

You can also share these articles on social media – simply share the following links, along with details of your Harvest Festival service.

Saying thank you for food – share on social media
Learning to say thank you – share on social media
Your can also invite families with recently-baptized children using this greetings card, available on the Church Print Hub.

FOR YOUR HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE

Full service outline – includes suggestions for prayers and a talk. Taken from Festivals Together; creating all-age worship through the year, by the Revd Sandra Millar ISBN 978-0-281-06631-5, published by SPCK.
This 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 are available separately to help you involve the whole congregation in a prayer activity. Every person might write on a leaf what they’re thankful to God for and place it on the tree.

Resources from charities

If you’d like to focus your service around caring for the earth and fair trade, Traidcraft offers this resource to help.
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 and offers a resource pack for its Mustard Seed Appeal. For more information and to download a resource pack, see the Mustard Seed web pages.
Action against poverty campaigner Tearfund offers several harvest resource packs online, including prayer videos.

Back to all Festivals and follow-up

Christmas Across all our research, those who have encountered church at one of lifeâ€™s key moments are positive about hearing from us again. One of the best moments to be in contact with people is around Christmas. It is a time when most people will want to return and a focused invitation linking to their situation can make a difference. The ideas below might help to target that invitation.

Remembering & Remembrance All Saintsâ€™, All Soulsâ€™ and Remembrance Sunday services are traditionally well attended. With reduced scope for physical gatherings, how can the Church still help people to remember those who have died? This page offers some practical suggestions.

The changing season of Harvest The Revd Sandra Millar, Head of Life Events