This is the time of year when we think about harvest; the good gifts that come from the earth and our gratitude to God and those who work the land to provide for us.

Honouring God’s creation means honouring those who look after it. It’s very easy to go to the shops and buy what we want, as cheaply as possible, without any real thought about where our food is coming from. The principles of Fairtrade are important: to help each person in the supply chain get a just reward. Our choices of where we shop and what we buy can make a difference.

As usual we are encouraging people at Harvest to bring gifts to symbolise our gratitude for what we have. St Peter’s school is joining us in this too. This means that the younger children will bring gifts of food. Some of this will be used by the church to provide a harvest lunch for people in the community (on Tuesday 13th October, 12pm). The rest will support the local food bank so they have enough to give to families that need support. Older children will bring gifts of money. This will go to our Water for Life Project which is helping people in Tanzania.

We have a special link with a village called Sakawa, where we have sponsored a water tank to collect rain water. I was fortunate to be able to visit the village in May and see the tank complete (see my June letter). So we know the money has gone to the right place. The village would like another tank so we are continuing to raise funds for that.

Harvest is when we are encouraged to stop and think but also   celebrate and enjoy the good things that we have and this is much more than the food we can eat. We would like to invite you to join in these celebrations. On Saturday 10th October we are holding an Arts & Crafts Day with various local skills and talents being displayed and demonstrated. If you have a skill to share please come and join in. If not, come along anyway to see the exhibitions. There will be a Ceilidh with a live band in the evening at St Peter’s School (please call the office for tickets). On Sunday 11th October after the morning Harvest Festival service there will be a soup and roll lunch. Please join us.

Rev Bill Henderson

For many people September is a time of change and new beginnings. It certainly is for families with children; each one starting a new class, school or college. It can be difficult for our children who leave a familiar environment and move into the unknown. What will the new teacher be like? Will I make any friends? As parents we   accept and welcome these changes as being helpful and beneficial. As adults we often resist change but part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to stir in us a holy discontent. Not one that will lead to grumbling, but to growth.

In the Bible there are many   stories of people whose lives are changed by an encounter with God. Zacchaeus was a tax collector who took more than he should to make himself rich. He ended up with plenty of money but no friends. Jesus spotted him hiding in a tree and invited himself to tea. This meeting with Jesus changed Zacchaeus’s life. He gave back to people all that he had swindled four times over. He had changed from being selfish to being selfless. It must have made quite an impact on the community and made Jesus even more of a hero.

We may not be able to sit down with Jesus over a cup of tea, but an important part of prayer and reading the Bible is asking God to speak to us. It is nice to receive assurances of God’s love and comfort. It can be a more life changing to be challenged about how we are in way that leads to change and ultimately a richer and fuller life. How selfish are we in our attitude to money, to the poor, to our neighbour, to those who hurt us?

Migrants are a big part of the news at the moment. It is hard to imagine what horrors drive people to risk death and exploitation. It is a difficult problem that needs a global response. We must remember that these are human beings like us, only born in a different place. Our   response must be to care for those seeking escape as well as seeking to deal with the causes that drive people to such extremes.

Rev Bill Henderson