submitted: Muriel

HARVEST

1.  Ask children if they can find the word TEA in the letters. Can they spell it out? ( or give them a clue – a drink)

2.  Give clues to other words STAR, VEST, RASH, HEART

3.  Explain there are two words that we can make to do with harvest.

STARVE – talk about all the children who have very little food to eat and that are starving in the world.

SHARE – talk about the fact that we have plenty of food and waste most of it. How can we share?

4. Pick three people
A third (1) represent the rich of the world Two thirds (2) represent the poor of the world

4.  Show an apple – this represents all the food in the world

5.  Divide it into three

6.  There is enough food for everyone.

7.  But — the rich of the world have 2 pieces of apple and the poor only have 1 piece.

8.  Bring it closer to home by talking about people in own community that do not have as much as us.

9.  End with a short prayer

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submitted: Fr Bruce Walles

Equipment: Can of soup

A whole Harvest in a can of soup.
How can we really celebrate Harvest without being surrounded by produce?
Well this single can of soup contains everything that we need to celebrate and thank God this morning.
This single can contains a hearty meal …. Something in itself that we should give thanks for… it s full of vegetables like carrots, potatoes, onions and peas…. There are also tomatoes and pasta…. Herbs and flour.
Farmers have planted the seeds and harvested the crops. Chefs have mixed the flour and made the pasta.
And using God s gift of water, everything has been cooked to perfection.
But that s not the only harvest contained in this single can!
The can itself is a celebration of the earth and the minerals and ores that it gives us. So we can also give thanks for the gift of industry and all those men and women who work so hard to make our country so prosperous.
Even the label is a cause for celebration…. The bright colours can remind us of just how beautiful our world is…. Truly a gift from God.
The paper label, lets us thank God for the beauty and usefulness of trees.
Even the list of ingredients and cooking instructions on the back…. Let us thank God for the gift of language and the wonder of modern communications.
And the barcode is a cause for recognising the gift of technology and science in our world and the power and ingenuity of the human brain.
And finally when we sit down to enjoy the soup itself… We can give thanks to God not only for all our senses, sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste… But we can thank him for the gift of life itself.
Life so precious and wonderful  that we should celebrate it every day.
So just one small can of soup ….  That contains everything it says on the label …. And a whole lot more!
Is a truly wonderful celebration of our Harvest.
Enjoy ….. Amen

How many words can you make using only the letters in HARVEST?  There are loads of them and many lend themselves to Harvest thoughts: Share, Starve, Have, Vest,  Rest… 
You can add others by commenting…

Submitted: Fr Bruce Willes

A little bit of preparation is needed the day before and possibly someone who is good a drawing. But I have found this talk always captivates the children and certainly brings home the difference between poorer counties and our own.

On pieces of white card draw the entire amount of food that a ‘normal’ person in the west enjoys each day. For example: (Breakfast)A cup of tea, toast in a rack, pot of jam, plate of egg and bacon. (Coffee Break) Cup of coffee, biscuit or cake. (Lunch) Burger and chips, glass of cola, cheesecake or yoghurt. (Teatime) Cup of tea, and a sandwich. (Dinner) Starter, plate with main meal plus pudding etc., (Supper or bedtime snack) Cup of coco. As you can see the list is quite long and each item once drawn needs to be cut out and made to stand up by adding a small triagle of card to the back of the cut out. You will also need an old tin can and a small bowl of rice (I add a few stones and dirt to this). Finally a jug or bottle with dirty water in it.

Begin by asking for 2 volunteers. The first can be shown to a seat set at the side of a table. The second is given the old tin can and told to start walking around the church or hall. Now as the child sets off on his journey the first child can be given his breakfast. Each item shown clearly for all to see. The child holding the can will probably return and expect it to end there but tell him to keep going – and serve the other child with his coffee break. This is repeated until the whole days meal is served. When everything is on the table (don’t remove any of the meals) the child with the can is told that he has walked far enough and arrived at the place he needs to be to get all his food for the day. At this point fill his can with the dirty water and offer him the bowl of dirty rice. Then tell him that he has to walk back home in order to share this with his family.

I leave it to you to expand on what everyone has just witnessed – but I have always found it to be a very powerful and moving sermon.