{"id":1054,"date":"2026-10-05T10:55:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T09:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revjane.co.uk\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2026-10-05T10:55:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T09:55:48","slug":"harvest-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revjane.co.uk\/?p=1054","title":{"rendered":"Harvest Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reflection #130 (27th September 2026 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The harvest festival is meant to be a time of thanksgiving. Once a year, we are reminded to pay special attention to our where our food comes from, and all the stars that have to align in order for even the simplest meal to turn up on our plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of us who are reasonably well-off \u2013 in global terms, at least \u2013 and I\u2019m not making the assumption that we\u2019re all that comfortable as I know times are tough for so many right now \u2013 but still many of us take it for granted that we can put food on the table tonight. Indeed, that we will have some choice in the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The traditions around the harvest festival are supposed to shake us up a bit. To wake us up to everything that\u2019s involved in feeding the currently 8.3 billion people on earth. Considering the food supply chain \u2013 and all the many things that can disrupt it \u2013 gives us a lesson in our interdependence. We are dependent on human factors: the people who grow crops, then dig them up, pick them off, or cut them down; the people who pack and transport them, prepare them and sell them; the people who cook them and serve them up. We are dependent on weather and climate: not too hot, not too cold; not too wet, not too dry; just the right amount of rain at the right time; and enough sunshine to photosynthesise and ripen. We are dependent on the bees and other insects to pollinate (75% of crops depend on animal pollinators). And we\u2019re competing with so many other life-forms who also want to eat our fruit and veg: beetles and weevils, slugs and caterpillars, birds and rodents, mildew and blight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our food supply is more fragile than we might like to acknowledge, given that our lives depend on it \u2013 perhaps we\u2019re beginning to face up to that a bit more now \u2013 given that in the last decade we\u2019ve witnessed the significant impact of global events (such as the pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and Trump\u2019s tariffs) on prices and availability. And given the summer we\u2019ve had, and the El Ni\u00f1o that\u2019s on the way, the impact of climate change on our lives (and our capacity to feed ourselves) is becoming ever-clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvest, as well as being a festival of thanksgiving, is a time for taking stock. It reminds us to be grateful for what we have \u2013 in this moment \u2013 and not to take it for granted. To be aware of where we are situated among the haves and have nots. To do what we can to help ensure life on this planet is liveable \u2013 and ever more equitable and just \u2013 so that everybody gets their fair share of the earth\u2019s abundant goodness. And it reminds us to stay in touch with what is nourishing and good throughout all of life\u2019s seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that spirit, I invite you now to join in with the responsive reading in the middle of your hymn sheet \u2013 the words will also be on screen \u2013 the responses are printed in bold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this season of harvest, let us give thanks
\nfor all the good gifts we have been given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the basic material needs of life
\non which our very existence depends
\n\u2013 good food, fresh water, clean air, safe shelter, and rest \u2013
\nto the rich social and cultural nourishment
\nwhich supports our full flourishing.
\nFor all the gifts of life that come our way, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the pleasure of delicious food.
\nThe preparation and anticipation
\n\u2013 the sensory delights of smell, texture, and taste \u2013
\nsalt, spice, sour, savoury, sweet.
\nFor the daily pleasures of cooking and eating, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the sacrifice of the plants, animals, and fungi
\n\u2013 once-living beings who become part of the food chain \u2013
\nwhose nutrients become the building blocks of our own bodies,
\ntheir life force given up so that we, in turn, might live.
\nFor the living beings that become our food, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all the diverse flavours and cultures of the world
\n\u2013 recipes dreamed up, tested, and handed down the generations \u2013
\nwhich offer familiarity and comfort, and connect us to our heritage.
\nFor all the seeds saved, varieties cultivated, rare breeds preserved.
\nFor the culinary traditions we have inherited, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the labour involved in ensuring our access to safe and nutritious meals
\n\u2013 a network of farmers and growers, pickers and processors,
\nscientists and regulators, distributors and sellers \u2013
\nan immense effort to provide sustenance.
\nFor all who work to fill our store cupboards, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who organise to provide for those who aren\u2019t so fortunate
\n\u2013 running food banks, aid programmes, and welfare systems
\n to redistribute supplies to those who are going hungry \u2013
\nand who fight for justice so that the harvest is shared more fairly.
\nFor all who strive to ensure that everybody is properly fed, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all who take action for climate justice and biodiversity,
\nknowing that our very survival as a species depends on
\ngood growing conditions, and safe and stable places
\nfor all to live, in the interdependent web of life.
\nFor the environmental activists fighting to save us all, we give thanks.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the mystery of life itself, and our good fortune
\nto find ourselves existing on this beautiful planet
\n\u2013 alive, awake, and aware of its preciousness and precarity \u2013
\nmay we never take this fleeting gift for granted.
\nIn this season of harvest, let us give thanks
\nfor all the good gifts we have been given. Amen.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n