Harvest Festival

Harvest Festival
– Amport Grateley Monxton and Quarley

Hymn

A Liturgy of Thanksgiving

The earth is the Lord's and everything In It; the world and all who live In It.
Let us bless the Lord, Forget not all his benefits.

He founded it upon the seas and established It upon the waters.
Let us bless the Lord, Forget not all his benefits.

He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and It stood.
Let us bless the Lord, Forget not all his benefits.

Prayer of Confession

Brothers and sisters, In the presence of the God of glory, we need to confess our true human condition.
In the light of Christ's self giving life, His way of the Cross, we see the darkness In our lives.
(Silence as we reflect on our lives.)

As we think of the evil and oppression In the world, of which we are a part, We need to repent together with out brothers and sisters.

(Silence as we reflect on our need for repentance.)

As members of a people called to follow Christ, and alive in his new righteousness, we need to repent for the evil In the church's life.

(Silence as we reflect on the life of the church.)

Absolution

The Saviour of the world, the refuge of the penitent,
Forgives and strengthens all who truly seek his grace.
He accepts you as his sons and daughters,
And sets you free from the bondage of your past.
For Christ died and rose to new life that we might all
share his wholeness and abundant life. Amen.

Hymn

Reading

Anthem

Sermon

Hymn

The Creed

We believe and trust In God the Father who made the world
We believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed mankind,
We believe and trust in his Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God. We believe and trust In one God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen


Prayers of Intercession

Lord, hear your servants and bless and protect us.

Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

God, feed us with rains and good seasons.

Merciful Lord, hear. our prayer.

Bless all the works of farmers.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

God, bless the seeds which we sow, that they would grow and yield a plentiful harvest at the right time.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

Please give us your grace in protecting our animals.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

And give us hearts that are thankful for all you have given us.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.
Please give to the people who are hungry and have nothing.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

Lord, give us good hearts to glorify your name by doing good things for others.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

Lord, you lead your households In the Holy Spirit so that they may serve you In truthful and cheerful ways.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

Your church serves you with godliness and the church should be a light for your people. Make them shine with your word.
Merciful Lord, hear our prayer.

We remember (hose who live in lands of drought or flood, Whose harvest is Inadequate or non-existent.

Today they sow in tears: may they soon reap with shouts of joy.

We remember those whose water supply Is polluted, by negligence or need, Those to whom water brings disease, poisoning or radiation - the curse of death rather than the gift of life.
Today they sow in tears: may they soon reap with shouts of joy.
We remember ourselves, our waste of water, our profligacy with the fruits of the earth, our unwillingness to be bound together as one with our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
May we learn to share their tears: that soon we may all reap with shouts of joy.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the abundant harvest that you continually bestow upon us. We pray that we who have plenty, may share with those who have nothing. We who have resources and wealth, may share with those who are poor and hungry. Hasten the time when there will be no discrimination and your justice and peace will rule the world. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven …

A Prayer, of Commitment

Give us, O Lord, churches that will be more courageous than cautious; that will not merely 'comfort the afflicted' but 'afflict the comfortable'; that will not only love the world but also demand justice; that will not remain, silent when people are calling for a voice; that will, not pass by on the other side when wounded humanity is waiting to be healed; that will not only call us to worship but also send us out to witness; that will follow Christ even when the way points to a cross. To this end we offer ourselves In the name of him who loved us and gave himself for us.

Hymn

Blessing



Sources: USPG Harvest Appeal booklet-

Thanksgiving: Jessie Anand, prIest from India who Is working in Leicester with USPG's Come Over and Help Us programme

Confession / Absolution: Church of South India

Intercession: Prayer from South India, translated by Sister Kasthuri Manlckam, Clare Amos/Partners In Learning

Commitment: Christian Conference of Asia

Harvest Thanksgiving

The Benefice of Hurstbourne Priors, Longparish, St Mary Bourne & Woodcott

Harvest Thanksgiving 2009

 For Reflection
Harvest festival is not a celebration of just one season of the year: it is a thanksgiving for the pattern of the seasons by which growth and fruitfulness is sustained. Today, in this service, we shall give thanks for each of the seasons, with their own special gifts to us – and offer thanks for harvest, at the crown of the year.

The Bidding
― There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven: a time to sow and a time to reap. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2)

The earth is the Lord's     
and all that is in it.   Psalm 24.1
The Lord looked upon the earth:     
and filled it with his blessings.
As long as the earth endures,     
seedtime and harvest, summer and winter shall never cease. Genesis 8.22
The land has yielded its harvest:     
God, our God has blessed us.     Psalm 67.6

HYMN
(during which the children bring up their gifts of food for local good causes) Come, ye thankful people, come,

Lord, you care for the land and water it, you make it rich and fertile.

You prepare grain for your people, for so you provide for the earth.

You soften the ground with showers and make the young crops grow.

You crown the year with your goodness.

May the pastures be filled with flocks

And the valleys stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing.   cf Psalm 65.8-13

Reading: Matthew 6.25-33, from the Sermon on the Mount

 We pause for a moment in silent, thankful prayer, and then say together the Harvest Collect:

Eternal God, you crown the year with your goodness and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season: grant that we may use them to your glory, for the relief of those in need and for our own well-being; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

We sing a HYMN or CHORUS

 O give thanks to the Lord of Lords
For his mercy endures for ever!
In your prosperity do not forget the alien and the stranger
Let us not forget our neighbours in their need.
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for you have created all things, and by your will they have their being.

The Address
The Creed
 

We believe in God the Father, who reveals his love to us in Christ.

We believe in God the Son, who pours out his Holy Spirit on us.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who teaches us God's truth.

We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 We sing a HYMN or CHORUS

The Prayers

We kneel to pray, in confession and thanksgiving:

 Confession
... Father, in your mercy Forgive us and help us
ending ...
Grant us thankful hearts and a loving concern for all people; For Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Thanksgiving

... O give thanks to the Lord of Lords:

For his mercy endures for ever.

Gathering all our prayers and praises into one, we pray together: Our Father, who art in heaven ...

OFFERTORY HYMN
(during which the collection is taken).
We plough the fields, and scatter

 A General Thanksgiving
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

The Blessing

 At various times in the Service, we may sing – as a round:    

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,

    praise him, all creatures here below,

praise him above, angelic host,

    praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

    Thomas Ken (1637-1711)

Harvest - Tabernacles

Worship for all the Church Family

We say together the words printed in bold

Gathering to worship God

The Greeting

Welcome - in the name of our Lord Jesus! (Please say 'Hello' to one another)

We process anti-clockwise around the church, with percussion, branches to wave, and singing: You shall go out with joy

The Introduction

Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, Fill us all with your life-giving, joy-giving, peace-giving presence that we may praise you now with our lips and all the day long with our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Silence is kept.

The collect, the prayer of the day is said.

Part One - Praise to God our Provider

Hymn 106 Come, ye thankful people, come

Why the Tabernacle?

First Reading: Leviticus 23.33-34, 40-43

Part Two - Confession to Jesus our Redeemer

We kneel and sing the Shma. It will be played first, and then we join in the words. These are in Hebrew and this is a prayer which Jesus would used twice a day. We still use it regularly in our Communion Service, but in English!

Shma Israel, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Baruch shem kavod malchuto le'olam va'ed.

The leader says

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind, and with all your might."

Confession

God our Father, we come to you in sorrow for our sins.

For turning away from you, and ignoring your will for our lives: Father, forgive us.

For behaving just as we wish, For letting ourselves be drawn away from you by temptations in the world about us: Father, forgive us.

For living as if we were ashamed to belong to your Son: Father, forgive us.

The leader declares God's forgiveness

May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days. Amen.

Praise for a new start in Jesus

Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe! Your word brings on the glory of the morning and the dusk of the evening!

Your wisdom creates both day and night. You arrange the succession of the seasons and the bounty of the harvest.

Living and eternal God, rule over us always. Blessed be the Lord whose word rules day and night, seed time and harvest and all that is good.

Hymn 147 Fill your hearts with joy and gladness

After the hymn, people are invited to bring forward their harvest gifts and children to also bring their percussion instruments. After the gifts have been laid on a table, the children will gather in the Chance! and then dance to their seats during the following hymn.

Hymn 376 Jesus put this song into our hearts

200 years old this year!

The Church's Ministry Amongst Jewish People is 200 years old! Our special guest, Jane Van Der Merwe, the UK Director of CMJ Shoresh Tours, is going to tells us a little about the work of CMJ. and also say a little about our Shoresh Study Tour of Israel next year.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer: Our Father, which art in heaven …

The Grace

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

Part Three - Serving Jesus in the World

Children will come forward to light the candles

Why the Candles?

Second Reading: John 7. 14-16; 8.12

Hymn 732 We plough the fields and scatter

Third Reading: Matthew 5.14-16

Part Four - Strength to Serve Jesus

The Choir will sing, "From the rising of the sun" from Psalm 113- one of the Hallel (or Hallelujah) Psalms. As the Choir sings, water is brought forward to be poured into the silver bowl.

Why the Water?

Fourth Reading: John 7.37-39

Offertory Hymn 506 How great thou art!

Blessing

May God who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds of the sky who leads the lambs to pasture and the deer to water, who multiplied loaves and fishes and changed water into wine, lead us, feed us, multiply us, and change us to reflect the glory of our Creator through all eternity. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be amongst you and remain with, now and forever, Amen.

The children are invited to follow the Rector to the back of the church and to sit in the tabernacle for their refreshments. Cake and coffee/squash will be served for the whole congregation.

Please note the Retiring Collection for the work of the Church's Ministry amongst Jewish People.

 

 

Celebrating God’s World in Summer

A CELEBRATION OF GOD'S WORLD IN SUMMER

St Peter, St Mary Bourne

Hymn 116 All things bright and beautiful     C F Alexander (1818-95)

Each little flower that opens

Opening Words (Matthew 6.28-9, NRSV)

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

A short silence as we consider the flowers arranged in church.

Reading

Flowers preach to us if we will hear.
The rose saith in the dewy morn:
    I am most fair;
Yet all my loveliness is born
    Upon a thorn.
The lilies say: Behold how we
Preach without words of purity.
The violets whisper from the shade:
Men scent our fragrance on the air
    Yet take no heed
Of humble lessons we would read.
    The merest grass
Alongside the roadside where we pass
Tells of his love who sends the dew,
Who sends the rain and sunshine too.

(from Christina Rossetti, 'Consider the Lilies of the Field')

Hymn 104 For the beauty of the earth    F S Pierpoint (1835-1917)

>

Each little bird that sings

Opening Words (Matthew 6.26, NRSV)

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father.

A short silence as we listen to the singing of a skylark, and the beginning of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending

Poem: To a Skylark

Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!
Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?
Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye
Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?
Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,
Those quivering wings composed, that music still!
To the last point of vision and beyond.

Mount, daring Warbler! that love-prompted strain
('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond)
Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain.
Yet might'st thou seem, proud privilege!, to sing
All independent of the leafy spring. 

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;
A privacy of glorious light is thine;
Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood
Of harmony, with instinct more divine;
Type of the wise who soar, but never roam,
True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!

(William Wordsworth, 1770—1850)

Hymn    Morning has broken

 

The ripe fruits in the garden

Opening Words (based on verses from Genesis 2)

The Lord God planted a garden in Eden And there he placed the human being he had formed. And the Lord God placed the human being in the garden to tend it and to care for it.

A short silence while a bowl of garden produce is brought up.

Reading

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing 'Oh, how beautiful' and sitting in the shade,
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner knives.

There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick,
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and the God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden, that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden, it shall never pass away!

(from Rudyard Kipling, 'The Glory of the Garden')

Hymn 457 For the fruits of his creation    F Pratt Green (b1903)

The tall trees in the greenwood

Opening Words (based on Psalm 1.3-4)

The righteous are like trees planted along a river bank Which yield their fruit in due season: Their leaves shall never wither and they shall prosper in all they do.

 

A short silence as we picture in our imagination a favourite tree.

Reading: A Tree

A tree grows, bears fruit — then, after a certain time, it no longer grows, it loses its leaves, its branches wither. What happens? Why is its vital energy checked? Because it did not sink deep enough roots into the earth on which it stands. Anyone who has to do with trees knows what I mean. The same thing, I thought to myself, has happened with us humans. Humanity has not had deep enough roots. It has not found sustenance and fresh impetus, because the ethical code on which it was based was too narrow and did not have a deep foundation. It has concerned itself only with human beings and our relations with human beings. It has given only a passing nod to our relationship with other living creatures, looking upon it as a nice bit of sentimentality, quite innocuous but of no great significance. For only if we have an ethical attitude in our thinking about all living creatures does our humanity have deep roots and a rich flowering that cannot wither.

(Albert Schweitzer, 1875—1965)

Hymn        O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

 

The sunset and the morning

Opening Words (based on verses from Genesis 1 and Psalm 19)

God made two great lights: The greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night; The sun comes forth as a bridegroom from his chamber and like a strong man runs his course with joy.

A short silence while music plays.

Poem: The Setting Sun

This scene, how beauteous to a musing mind,
That now swift slides from my enchanted view;
The sun sweet-setting yon far hills behind,
In other worlds his visits to renew:
What spangled glories all round him shine;
What nameless colours, cloudless and serene
(A heav'nly prospect, brightest in decline)
Attend his exit from this lovely scene.

So sets the Christian's sun, in glories clear:
So shines his soul at his departure here:
No clouding doubts, nor misty fears arise,
To dim hope's golden rays of being forgiven;
His sun sweet-setting in the clearest skies,
In faith's assurance wings the soul to heaven.

(John Clare, 1793—1864)

Hymn 16 The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended    J Ellerton (1826-93)

The Lord God made them all

Opening Words (based on verses from Genesis 1 and 2)

God saw all that he had made and it was very good. On the sixth day God completed all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Because on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

A short silence to contemplate the beauties of the summer and God's creation.

Prayers to include the Lord's Prayer

Hymn 98 From all that dwell below the skies    Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Psalm 117

Blessing

May God the Creator, who made us and all living things and all the marvels which surround us in the natural world, bless us, our homes and our families, now and for ever. Amen.

A Summer Evening

A Service for a Summer's Evening

Summer, n. the warmest season of the year: a spell of warm weather (see Indian, St Luke's, St Martin's summer): ...

    Chambers Dictionary

"Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language."    Henry James
Hymn 104 For the beauty of the earth


Each little flower that opens


Reading (Matthew 6.28—9, NRSV)

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

A short silence while we each contemplate the High Altar Flowers.

Reading
from Christina Rossetti,

Consider the Lilies of the Field
Flowers preach to us if we hear,
The rose saith in the dewy morn:
I am most fair
Yet all my loveliness is born
Upon a thorn.
The lilies say: Behold who we
Preach without words of purity
The violets whisper from the shade:
Men scent our fragrance on the air
Yet take no heed
Of humble lessons we would read.
The merest grass
Alongside the roadside where we pass
Tells of love who sends the dew
Who sends the rain and sunshine too.

For the Psalm, Hymn 100, All people that on earth do dwell

Each little bird that sings

Reading (Matthew 6.26, NRSV) Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Not one will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father.

Reading
from John Clare (1793-1864), Summer Images

The speckled thrush, by self-delight embued,
There sings unto himself for joy's amends,
And drinks the honey dew of solitude.
    There Happiness attends
With inbred Joy until the heart o'erflow,
    Of which the world's rude friends,
    Nought heeding, nothing know.

There the gay river, laughing as it goes,
Plashes with easy wave its flaggy sides,
And to the calm of heart, in calmness shows
    What pleasure there abides,
To trace its sedgy banks, from trouble free:
    Spots Solitude provides
    To muse, and happy be.

Hymn 370 God, whose farm is all creation

The ripe fruits in the garden

Reading (based on verses from Genesis 2)

The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, and there he placed the human being he had formed. And the Lord God placed the human being in the garden to tend it and to care for it.

A short silence as we reflect on ripe fruits.

Reading
from Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing 'Oh, how beautiful' and sitting in the shade,
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner knives.

There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick,
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and the God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden, that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden, it shall never pass away!

Hymn 486 Lord, by whose breath all souls and seeds are living

The tall trees in the greenwood

Reading (based on Psalm 1.3—4)

The righteous are like trees planted along a river bank : which yield their fruit in due season.
Their leaves shall never wither : and they shall prosper in all they do.

A short silence while we look at the churchyard trees through the chancel windows.

Reading: from John Clare, Summer is on the earth and in the sky

Summer is on the earth and in the sky
The days all sunny and the fields all green
The woods spread oer her hills a canophy
Of beautys harmony in every scene
Like to a map the fields and valleys lie
Winds dash in wildest motions the woods green
And every wave of leaves and every billow
Lies in the sun like Beauty on a pillow

The roaring of the woods is like a sea
All thunder and comotion to the shore
The old oaks toss their branches to be free
And urge the fury of the storm the more
Louder then thunder is the sobbing roar
Of leafy billows to their shore the sky
Round which the bloodshot clouds like fields of gore
In angry silence did at anchor lie
As if battles roar was not yet bye

Anon the wind has ceased the woods are still
The winds are sobbed to sleep and all is rest
The clouds like solid rocks too jagged for hills
Lie quietly ashore upon the west
The cottage ceases rocking—each tired guest
Sleeps sounder for the heavy storm's uproar
—How calm the sunset blazes in the west
As if the waking storm would burst no more
And this still even seems more calmer than before

Musical Interlude

The pleasant summer sun ( rain / wind / storm / cloud)

Reading from Jeremiah 8.19-22

Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the welfare of my poor people not been restored?

A short silence as we receive summer as a gift of hope, and an uncertain summer as our hopes somehow dashed.

Reading
from Richard Jefferies (1848-87), Nature Diaries (1878) & Chronicles of the Hedges (published 1948)


Summer cold in June. Shivering in the evenings in the parlour with lilac and flowers in the grate and apple bloom in the garden. Yet cold, and all the green things dripping.    (1878)

Out of the thirty days of June, fourteen were wet. There was heavy rain very early in the morning of another day, and distant thunder on another; nor does this include several days when there was only a sprinkling of rain. Moreover, there was much rain during the nights; and such days as were dry were often overcast and gloomy. The longest day came in with steady rain; the afternoon, though dry, was cloudy, and the evening closed with a wind that howled down the chimneys like a true winter blast. ... There were only about five days in June that could be called really fine; and when two of these happened in succession it was regarded as quite remarkable. Yet the flowers have been beautiful. Surely the buttercups were never so numerous. The meadows were one wide expanse of gold, almost dazzling when the sun did shine.    (Midsummer 1879)

Prayers concluding with the Lord's Prayer

Offertory Hymn 98 From all that dwell below the skies

Blessing (said together)

May God the Creator, who made us and all living things and all the marvels which surround us in the natural world, bless us, our homes and our families, now and for ever. Amen.

Envoi
John Clare, Summer Evening.

How pleasant, when the heat of day is bye,
And seething dew empurples round the hill
Of the horizon, sweeping with the eye
In easy circles, wander where we will!
While o'er the meadow's little fluttering rill
The twittering sunbeam weakens cool and dim,
And busy hum of flies is hush'd and still.

How sweet the walks by hedge-row bushes seem,
On this side wavy grass, on that the stream;
While dog-rose, woodbine, and the privet-spike,
On the young gales their rural sweetness teem,
With yellow flag-flowers rustling in the dyke;
Each mingling into each, a ceaseless charm
To every heart that nature's sweets can warm.

A Spring Evening Service

A Spring Evening Service

A little Madness in the Spring

Is wholesome even for a King,

But God be with the Clown —

Who ponders this tremendous scene —

This whole Experiment of Green —

As if it were his own! Emily Dickinson 1333

Deuteronomy 11.11-15 But the land [of promise] is a land of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky, a land that the LORD your God looks after. The eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. If you will only heed his every commandment that I am commanding you today – loving the LORD your God, and serving him with all your heart and with all your soul - then he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil; and he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you will eat your fill.


Hymn: 104 For the beauty of the earth

O all you green plants, shrubs and trees,

Spring flowers and bright blossoms,

Praise the Lord who made you. Glorify his name!

i thank You God for most this amazing

day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth

day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay

great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing

breathing any — lifted from the no

of all nothing — human merely being

doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and

now the eyes of my eyes are opened) e e cummings, i thank you God

Spring Flowers

Bluebells
Emily Brontë, 1840

The Bluebell is the sweetest flower

That waves in summer air:

Its blossoms have the mightiest power

To soothe my spirit's care.

Daisies John Clare, The Daisy, 1860

The daisy is a happy flower,

And comes at early spring,

And brings with it the sunny hour

When bees are on the wing.

It brings with it butterfly,

And early humble bee;

With the polyanthus' golden eye,

And blooming apple-tree.

Cowslips William Shakespeare, The Tempest, V, I, 88

Where the bee sucks, there suck I

In a cowslip's bell I lie;

There I couch when owls do cry.

On the bat's back I do fly

After summer merrily:

Merrily, merrily shall I live now

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Blossom
Algernon Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon, chorus stanza 4

And time remembered is grief forgotten,

And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,

And in green underwood and cover

Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

Hymn: 501 Now the green blade riseth

Spring animals and birds

Jubilate Deo, Psalm 100

O BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands : serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves : we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise : be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting : and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Spirit ;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

Reading: John 10.22-30


Hymn: 426 The Lord's my shepherd (Brother James' Air)


Lambs


Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, & bid thee feed
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
softest clothing, wooly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and he is mild;
He became a little child.
I, a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
William Blake, The Lam

We sing, from the separate sheet, Benedicite, omnia opera

Skylark
John Clare, Larks and Spring

To see the skylark as he springs

Shake mornings moisture from his wings

And rise and sing in music proud

Small as a bee beneath a cloud ...

A happy song the skylark brings

And spring's in every note he sings

In every field they mount and sing

The song of Nature and of Spring.

Our prayers, leading into the Lord's Prayer

Hymn: 202 Let all the world in every corner sing


James 5.7-8 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.


from the Nestorian Evening Office

With request and beseeching,
 we ask for the Angel of peace and mercy,        
From thee O Lord.
Night and day throughout our life, 
we ask for continued peace for thy Church,     
From thee O Lord.
We ask continual love, which is the bond of perfectness, 
with the confirmation of the Holy Spirit,        
From thee O Lord.
We ask for forgiveness of sins and those things 
which help our lives and please Thy Godhead,    
From thee O Lord.
We ask the mercy and compassion of the Lord 
continually and at all times,                
From thee O Lord.

The Blessing

Rogation Service - Steep

Steep, and Froxfield with Privett Rogation Service

Aldersnapp Farm, 10^th May 2009

Welcome and introduction

Peace be to this house and farm
All: Open for us the gates of righteousness; we will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

Opening prayers

For the stirring of new life throughout the countryside:
Thanks be to God.
For hard work with crops and animals that both wearies and satisfies:
Thanks be to God.
For the security of a home with warmth, food and family:
Thanks be to God.
Bless, O God, this house and farm and those who live and work here. Give them health and strength in their daily labours;
And thankfulness for all your gifts.

Reading: Isaiah 55: 12-56:1


You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. This is what the Lord says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed."


Song


First stop – a pond in an uncultivated place

Reading: Luke 12:24, 27
Jesus said: "Think of the ravens: they neither sow nor reap; they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. Think of the lilies: they neither spin nor weave; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendour was not attired like one of them."

O all you green plants, shrubs and trees, O all you insects and creeping things,

Praise the Lord who made you and sustains you.
O all you birds and animals who hide yourselves, O all you stones and rocks, giving shelter,
Praise the Lord who made you and sustains you.
O heat and cold, rain and sun, dew and frost, O night and day, air and wind, summer and winter,
Praise the Lord who made you and sustains you.


Prayer

Song


Second stop – a meadow with cattle

O let the works of the Lord
bless the Lord.
O let the beasts and cattle
bless the Lord.
O let all who care for God's world
bless the Lord.


Reading: Psalm 147: 7-11
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
He veils the sky with clouds and provides the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills;
he provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the horse's strength, and he takes no pleasure in a runner's fleetness;
the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.


Prayer

Song


Third stop – a pasture

The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.


Reading: Isaiah 28:24-9
Will the ploughman spend his whole time ploughing, breaking up his ground and harrowing it? Does he not, once he has levelled it, broadcast the the dill and scatter the cummin? Does he not put in the wheat and barley in rows, and vetches along the edge? Does not his God instruct him and train him aright? . . Grain is crushed, but not too long or too finely; cartwheels rumble over it and thresh it, but they do not grind it fine. Even this knowledge comes from the Lord of Hosts, whose counsel is wonderful and whose wisdom is great.

Prayer


Song


Fourth stop - Stroud church

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,
the world and all that live in it.
All the animals of the forest are the Lord's,
and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills.
The Lord makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for us to cultivate,
Bringing forth food from the earth,
wine that gladdens our hearts,
oil to make our faces shine,
bread that sustains our hearts.
The Lord makes springs pour water into the valleys;
it flows between the mountains.
The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.


Confession and Absolution

Prayers, including the Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven 

The Blessing


Song

Rogation and Animal Blessing

Rogation and Blessing of the Animals, Quarley Village Hall

WELCOME to our service this afternoon. WE hope that you will enjoy this service, and that together we will be able to praise God for all the beauty of our world and the enjoyment that our pets and animals give us We ask that we will see clearly the responsibilities that we have towards animals in our care.
Order of Service
HYMN:         Let earth rejoice and heaven adore (Muriel Stammers)

Thanksgiving

Minister:     Heavenly Father, Creator of the Universe, we praise you for your goodness, love and mercy;
All:        We thank you, dear Lord.
Minister:     Creator of the world, You give us life and breath;
All:        We thank you, dear Lord.
Minister:     As Preserver of all life, You sustain us day by day;
All:        We thank you, dear Lord.
Minister:     As Redeemer of mankind, You show forth your love in Christ;
All:        We thank you, dear Lord.
Minister:     So in Christ we join with creation to praise, to worship and adore;
All:        Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. Praise be to you, O Lord most high. AMEN.

The Reading     Isaiah 11.1—9

My Pet...

HYMN:         O teach us, Dear Father, Creator of all (Carol Williams)

The Address

HYMN:     PRAYER OF ST FRANCIS -- Make me a channel of your peace (Sebastian Temple)

All:        We praise You, Heavenly Father, for all the animals which are Your creatures. We thank You especially for our pets. May we never be unkind to them, but always treat them with gentle hands and kindly words. For the sake of Him who loved all helpless things, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

From 'A Litany for Animals':

Leader:        We praise You for the creation of the world and all living creatures in the earth, sky and sea.

All:        We are thankful, O God.
Leader:        For the gentle eyes of the deer, the friendship of dogs, the purr of cats, the strength of bears, the beauty of a hippo, the humour of chimps, the intelligence of gorillas, the grace of dolphins, and the magnificence of whales. Help us to keep them safe.
All:        We are thankful, O God.
Leader:        Give us a voice to speak in protest when any of Your beloved creatures are treated cruelly. Help us to be advocates for those who cannot speak for themselves.
All:        Give us speech, O God.
Leader:        In this world so full of violence and unkindness, let us act in a gentle way towards all Your creatures. A simple stroke on a dog's head, a scratch on a cat's chin, food for birds in winter.
All:        Help us to be gentle, O God.
Help us to lessen the suffering of Your creatures, O God. Hasten the coming of Your kingdom when the sun will shine on all Your creation living in peace and love.
All:        Lord, we thank You for St Francis, for his love for You, for his love for all that You have made, for his care for the sick and the sad. Help us to follow in his steps, so that we may enter into Your glorious kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
The Lord's Prayer
The Blessing of the Animals
All:        May Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless these animals, protect them from all cruelty and grant them with us a share in the redemption of Your creation. Amen.
HYMN:        Creator on high, we sing to Your praise (Mark Bishop)
The Blessing
Minister:    Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All:        In the name of Christ. Amen.

Alder-snaps

[gallery]

Aldersnapp Farm - November 2009

Richard Cole, whose family have farmed Aldersnapp, Steep since 1928, gave a warm welcome to the group.

The morning discussions were held in a barn, and members warmed to the topic of  'creation worship', introduced by a paper presented by Martin Coppen, the group's convenor (offered in full below). Various examples of services developed or adapted by members had been brought to share.

Warmed by Sue Cole's delicious soup, we were then taken by Richard on a brief guided tour of the 300 acre farm.

The afternoon then finished with a service including the reading of three Edward Thomas poems at All Saints Parish Church, Steep, led by the Vicar, Revd John Owen.

Creation Worship

“I did not know it was earth I loved
Until I tried to live there in the clouds
And the earth turned to cloud.”
from Edward Thomas, Wind and Mist

The poem reflects Thomas’ ambivalent feelings about The Red House, where he lived from 1909-16, high on the hill above Steep. In the worship of the rural church, we inhabit a place high and remote, heads in the cloud hiding God, but our feet have traces of earth’s mud. We are in a very privileged position, worshipping in places often of great natural beauty, graced by light and trees, big fields and bigger skies.

The Protestant tradition is strong on redemption, but how developed are we in our theology of creation? If our worship is measure of what we actually believe, do we give even a half adequate account of the earth or only of the clouds? As rural churches do we not have a greater responsibility to engage theologically and doxologically with the created world?

The belief that God is creator of all things is fundamental to Christian orthodox faith. But the traditional understanding of the relationship we have with him as created beings ourselves and the relationship we have with the rest of the created world, living and inanimate, need to be rethought. Dominion theology is by and large discredited. The concept of stewardship is criticised as being too managerial and man-centred. Dominic Coad (Note 1) begins from the relationship which the non-human creation has to God as in Psalm 148, 7-10  Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,  (8)  fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!  (9)  Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!  (10)  Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! The idea is that conscious human praise is accompanied by that of the non-conscious creation which worships God simply by being itself. This offers the beginnings of a theology for care for the environment. “Given that God's praise is incomplete without the participation of every created thing, we must assume that no created thing has been forgotten in God's dealings with the world. We must discover how the non-human creation shares with us in the history of redemption and realize its significance in the ultimate glory of God which that redemption brings.”

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, When kingfishers catch fire, leans in the same direction:

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:            5
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.

A century and half earlier, and significantly for us because he writes as a rural priest, George Herbert declares in his poem Providence that Man is the worlds high Priest. Perhaps that might prompt us to think about blessing to describe the relationship of man and the world.

In Creation at Worship, Christopher Voke (Note 2) points out that the Book of Common Prayer in its regular services values God as creator more than some modern liturgies, formal and informal, in which personal redemption is given exclusive prominence (clouds preferred to earth). For instance, the General Thanksgiving holds creation and redemption powerfully together. There is a Christian tendency to break into a dualism between material and spiritual. If doctrine is taught most effectively by liturgical practice (Lex orandi, lex credendi – the law of praying is the law of believing: or maybe  Lex cantandi ... -- we believe what we sing), then a credible doctrine of creation needs to be developed for our times within our services. Voke argues that services which balance creation and redemption are evangelistic, as they meet the seeker as a created being and point her on.

My concern is about the delivery. For one thing, it is just too easy to ratchet up ecological guilt in a responsive confession. Using incandescent filament rather than low wattage light bulbs, or a gas-guzzler instead of a low CO2 emission vehicle is a secular eco-sin. But we should not be increasing guilt but rather forgiveness which leads to new life. Equally it is easy to be sentimental about the non-human creation, which includes also all things dark and horrible. Some modern Celtic services flop in this direction. Life is not primroses but immense sacrifice for an uncertain future. Some worry about the implicit paganism of creation worship.

In the rural church we have the natural world as our context: open the church doors and see the fields, trees, hedgerows; hear the birds sing, badgers burrow, horses chew in the meadow. A response of thankfulness for the created world and God’s providence matches the thankfulness for our redemption (neatly expressed in the General Thanksgiving) which is the fresh spring of worship itself. Do our services adequately reflect both our own creatureliness and creation’s praise? How do we love the earth with a Benedicite spirituality of thankfulness?

Notes

(1) Dominic Coad, Creation’s Praise of God in Theology May/June 2009, Vol CXII pp181-189

(2) Christopher J Voke, Creation at Worship: Ecology, Creation & Christian Worship (Milton Keynes 2009)

Meeting with Bishop Trevor Willmott -June 2009

Notes from the Hampshire Rural Group Meeting held 30 June 2009 at Crawley Church Rooms, near Winchester

Pastoral reorganisation – why is this viewed negatively, asked the Bishop? Churches need to be revivified, not stultified. It is a challenge, not a regrettable lapse. There can be huge gains.

In response to HRG Paper on Mega-Parish Benefices,  Bp Trevor argued:-

1.    There is not one model for pastoral reorganisation. Linking rural and urban parishes can be revivifying. Mega-parish benefices can work and can produce life.

2.    History can freeze present life, but rural life has never been static. Mary and George Sumner started very badly at Old Alresford when they reduced servants from 37 to 18. The walls and fences of North Hampshire ... There needs to be a healing of memory.

3.    Takes points made about the inadequacy of the concept of sustainability. It is really about ‘critical mass’. No one church, no one ministry can provide all that is needed. The churches of Itchen Abbas were saying in interregnum, “We don’t need a vicar.” A critical mass is needed so that church can be experienced in all its fullness.

4.    There is a seeking of colleagueship and companionship in ministry and the new configurations offer better opportunities for this.