The colours of the flags of each country were depicted in the floral displays, which were then surrounded by products of that country.

Tanvi Pate, the Church Council Secretary said, ‘it was great for everyone to see in the displays something representing their own country’.

Figs and dates represented the produce from Iran with pineapple, mango, ginger and bananas reflecting the harvests from the Caribbean. Pulses, tea, wheat, rice and alphonso mangoes were displayed from India and from Afghanistan poppy seeds and dried apricots. Produce from Ghana included yam and sweet potatoes and from Zimbabwe melons and coffee. The British Isles display used wheat, vegetables and apples.

Dee Brunning said, ‘it was the work of many people. The idea for the service came from the worship group and then several members and flower arrangers worked on how best to celebrate our diversity in the window and foyer displays’.

THANKSGIVING AND PRAYERS FOR THE HARVEST

Thank you, God, that you gave –
  Seed to the sower
  Corn to the reaper
and all that is needed to produce a good harvest.
You give us more than we need.
  forgive us more than we deserve
  and offer us more than we can imagine!
  You are an amazing God – thank you!
May we never take your gifts for granted
But help to share the fruits of our harvest
With those who have so little.
   -----------o------------

We thank you for the beauty and diversity of your created world, and for the many ways in which you have provided for us, especially for the variety of fruits, grain and vegetables for our food.

Help us to remember those who have harvested our food and drink, not only in our prayers, but in our dealings with the shops and markets.

Let us not seek a bargain today that will leave others hungry tomorrow.

Our thanks for a Global Harvest
As we remember the bountiful resources
Throughout the world, we thank you for
Harvests in some of the countries
Represented in our fellowship here –

• for tea and wheat and lentils from India
• for rice and pears, apples and grapes from Iran and Afghanistan
• for spices and exotic fruits from the Caribbean
• for corn and vegetables from the UK
• and for mango, peach, banana , rape, pumpkin and  okra from Zimbabwe and Ghana

Let us thank God for their hard work, enabling us to have at home to enjoy so much.

Thought
If God only gave us the things we remember to thank him for, How empty life could be!

A Prayer of Confession
Father, we remember countries where economies are so burdened by debt that they cannot respond to human need. We confess that often the poorest work long hours in the fields only to fill foreign tables and that fairness and integrity do not rule the world.

Lord, may all your people be nourished – Even if rulers must cancel debts, shareholders lose profits and diners accept fewer choices.

Convert the hearts of those who ravage the earth and strengthen the resolve of those who respect it and help us to realise that it is not ours, but Yours.

The Problems of Harvest
Lord, we struggle with the realities of the harvest. We are frustrated by our own surplus and by our wastage of your gifts. We are confused by the problems of poverty and hunger throughout the world and we are unsure about what we can do and how to begin to keep.

  Please guide us as we pray!

A Prayer for the World-Wide Church
Dear Lord, Your sun travels millions of miles

• to come and warm our faces
• to scatter our darkness
• to unfreeze our winters and to grow our crops.

In Jesus, Your almighty love is ever close and always present.

Come to your World-Wide church today
Replace our winter of our deadness with the springtime of renewal
Warm our hearts again with Your compassion and produce in us the fruits of Your Spirit, to Your glory   Amen

A Final prayer for God’s World.
As we have prayed for God’s world
 Let us as especially –

• that its beauty may be preserved
• that its variety retained
• that its integrity respected
• and that all its people can be fed

And a Final thought
When Christ truly comes into our lives, then these prayers which we offer sincerely to Him can become a reality!