Harvest Festival at St John’s

Hymn – All Things Bright & Beautiful

Refrain: All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all. 

  1. Each little flower that opens,
    each little bird that sings,
    he made their glowing colors,
    he made their tiny wings.

Refrain: All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all. 

  1. The purple-headed mountain,
    the river running by,
    the sunset, and the morning
    that brightens up the sky.

Refrain: All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all. 

  1. The cold wind in the winter,
    the pleasant summer sun,
    the ripe fruits in the garden,
    he made them every one.

Refrain: All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all. 

  1. He gave us eyes to see them,
    and lips that we might tell
    how great is God Almighty,
    who has made all things well.  

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All: And also with you

Loving Lord,

Fill us 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

Cast your burden upon the Lord

All: And he will sustain you

Create in us clean hearts, O God

All: And renew a right spirit within us

Cast us not away from your Presence

All: And take not your Holy Spirit from us

Give us the joy of your saving help

All: And sustain us with your life-giving Spirit

Blessed be the Lord day by day

All: The God of our salvation, who bears our burdens.

We have a moment of quiet, to call to mind the things we

Have thought, said and done which we know grieve the God

who loves us 

Come, let us return to the Lord and say: 

All: Almighty God

Long-suffering and of great goodness

I confess to you.

I confess with my whole heart

My neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments

My wrong doing, thinking and speaking:

The hurts I have done to others,

And the good I have left undone.

O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;

And raise me to newness of life;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the God of love and power

Forgive us and free us from our sins,

Heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,

And raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.

All: Amen. 

We praise God for his love and forgiveness with:-

Hymn – Come, you Thankful People Come

  1. Come, you thankful people, come,
    raise the song of harvest home!
    fruit and crops are gathered in
    now, before the storms begin:
    God our maker will provide
    for our needs to be supplied;
    come, with all his people, come,
    raise the song of harvest home!
     
  1. All the world is God’s own field,
    harvests for his praise to yield;
    wheat and weeds together sown
    here for joy or sorrow grown:
    first the blade and then the ear,
    then the full corn shall appear-
    Lord of harvest, grant that we
    wholesome grain and pure may be.
     
  1. For the Lord our God shall come
    and shall bring his harvest home;
    He himself on that great day,
    worthless things shall take away,
    give his angels charge at last
    in the fire the weeds to cast,
    but the fruitful ears to store
    in his care for evermore.
     
  1. Even so, Lord, quickly come-
    bring your final harvest home!
    gather all your people in
    free from sorrow, free from sin,
    there together purified,
    ever thankful at your side-
    come, with all your angels, come,
    bring that glorious harvest home!
    (by Henry Alford (1810 to 1871) 

Our First Reading is from – Psalm 100

1 Sing to the Lord, all the world!

2 Worship the Lord with joy; come before him with happy songs!

3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, we are his flock.

4 Enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise him.

5 The Lord is good; his love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever.

This is the word of the God

All: Praise to you to Christ 

Our Second Reading is From – John Chap: 6

25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles.

27 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”

28 So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”

29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”

30 They replied, “What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ “

32 “I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said. “What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven.

33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

This is the word of the Christ

All: Praise to you oh Christ.

Sermon –
Thinking about past harvests when the church was decorated with fruit and
vegetables.
The activities related to harvest the actual decorating, the bringing of baskets.
The harvest sale and finally the harvest supper with entertainment
But Harvest is about people and the work that is done to provide the food.
How things have changed, most food is now grown and now processed in bulk
and bought from shops.
The rural life has changed again and when in the past the headland at the edge of fields was left for the poor to glean (remember Ruth) the land was then used up to the very edge and today it is left for nature to recover.
Harvest is about sharing there is enough for all but we do need to share not only the food but also our faith.
Amen 

HymnLet us with a Gladsome Mind

  1. Let us, with a gladsome mind,
    praise the Lord, for he is kind:

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.
 

  1. He with all commanding might
    filled the new-made world with light:

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.
 

  1. All things living he doth feed,
    his full hand supplies their need:

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.

  1. He His chosen race did bless

In the wasteland wilderness 

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.

  1. He That, with a piteous eye

Looked upon our misery

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.
 

  1. Let us, with a gladsome mind,
    praise the Lord, for he is kind:

Refrain:
for his mercies aye endure,
ever faithful, ever sure.
(by John Milton 1608 to 1674) 

Let us declare our faith in God.

All: We believe in God the Father,

From whom every family

In heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son

Who lives in our hearts through faith,

And fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit

Who strengthens us

With power from on high.

We believe in one God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Prayers and Intercessions

During the intercession this response is used:

Lord, m your mercy

All:       Hear our prayer.

Prayers for King Charles

Through this tritium of prayer we ask God’s continuing blessing on our new King Charles

Prayer

O God, to whom every human power is subject,
grant to your servant our sovereign Charles
success in the exercise of his high office,
so that, always revering you and striving to please you,
he may constantly secure and preserve
for the people entrusted to his care
the freedom that comes from civil peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen

Prayer for the Royal

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,

we humbly beseech thee to bless

Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the

Royal Family:

Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly

grace; prosper them with all happiness;

and bring them to thine everlasting

kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.

Generous God,

we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit.

We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the wisdom of your Holy Spirit.

We ask you to make us wise to understand your will.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the peace of your Holy Spirit.

We ask you to keep us confident of your love wherever you call us.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the healing of your Holy Spirit.

We ask you to bring reconciliation and wholeness

where there is division, sickness and sorrow.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the gifts of your Holy Spirit.

We ask you to equip us for the work which you have given us.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the fruit of your Holy Spirit.

We ask you to reveal in our lives the love of Jesus.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the breath of your Holy Spirit,

given us by the risen Lord.

We ask you to keep the whole Church, living and departed,

in the joy of eternal life.

Lord, come to bless us

All: and fill us with your Spirit. 

All: Generous God,

hear our prayer,

and make us one in heart and mind

to serve you with joy for ever.

Amen.

Collect for the Fourteenth Sunday of Trinity 

Almighty God,

whose only Son has opened for us

a new and living way into your presence:

give us pure hearts and steadfast wills

to worship you in spirit and in truth;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. 

Hymn – We Plough the Fields, and Scatter

  1. We plough the fields, and scatter
    the good seed on the land,
    but it is fed and watered
    by God’s almighty hand;
    he sends the snow in winter,
    the warmth to swell the grain,
    the breezes and the sunshine,
    and soft refreshing rain.

Refrain:

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above,
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
for all his love.
 

  1. He only is the Maker
    of all things near and far;
    he paints the wayside flower,
    he lights the evening star;
    the winds and waves obey him,
    by him the birds are fed;
    much more to us, his children,
    he gives our daily bread.
    Refrain:

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above,
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
for all his love.

  1. We thank thee, then, O Father,
    for all things bright and good,
    the seed time and the harvest,
    our life, our health, and food;
    no gifts have we to offer,
    for all thy love imparts,
    and, what thou most desirest,
    our humble, thankful hearts.

Refrain:

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above,
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord

for all his love.         (by Matthias Claudius – 1782) 

We gather our thoughts and prayers in the words our Saviour gave us

All: Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed by your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done,

On earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread,

Forgive us our sins

As we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, ‘

Now and for ever.

Amen. 

Closing Prayer

God the Holy Trinity make you strong in faith and love,

defend you on every side, and guide you in truth and peace;

and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always. 

All: Amen.

Hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness

  1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
    there is no shadow of turning with thee.
    Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
    as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

  1. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
    sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
    join with all nature in manifold witness
    to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.

  1. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
    thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
    strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
    blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
(by Thomas O. Chisholm – 1923)

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil

And keep us in eternal life. 

All: Amen

© 702211.