Sunday, October 17, 2021 World Food Sunday

A few final flowers before frost….

 

 Hymn       Let Us with a Gladsome Mind #234VU

Scripture Lessons:      Job 38:1-7, 34-41

                                    Psalm 104:1-9 p.826, pt 1

                                    Mark 10:35-45

Meditation

Prayer:  Creator of all that is, all that has ever been, and all that will ever come, n the season we know in the North as autumn, we offer gratitude for the cycle of the seasons. In this season we begin to reap what we have sown, tended to, prayed over, and fretted on. In all of this, we know that you have been there, watching over your creation and all its creatures. 

We lament over crops that were lost this year, to drought, and hail, and floods, to frost, to lack of workers, to pandemic. We lament over crops that were never planted, where farmers could not access their land or do not have the privilege to acquire land. Help us to stand in solidarity with farmers whose harvest never came to yield; help us to see land not as a resource to use, but as a gift to share. 

As the leaves begin to turn brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, we begin to pull from the ground the fruit of our labour. The potatoes, the squash, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, apples, pears, and more begin to fill our baskets. We give thanks. The corn and beans are ready to be stored; they have dried on their stalks. We know that these foods will sustain us through the winter. 

We give thanks for the labourers who have come to harvest, workers from near and far, many who travel to this land to find work. Sustainer, open our eyes to their sacrifice and help us to honour their gift. We pray for a safe harvest for all labourers and farmers. 

As the honeybee prepares for winter, we enjoy honey’s nectar sweetness. As the broiler chicken is fully grown, we give thanks for their life that will sustain us. As the hunter patiently awaits the deer, we honour its gift as nourishment. 

Creator, we are called back to remember our interconnected ness during this harvest season. Forgive us the times that we have been disconnected from our relations in our desire to take more than we should. Call us back into the fabric of creation so that we might live in the abundance of life. 

For all this, and more, we give thanks. Amen.

( a prayer written for World Food Day by Michael Shewsburg, director of Five Oaks)

Hymn     This is God’s Wondrous World #296VU

The United Church has named this Sunday both World Food Sunday and Sunday for a Guaranteed Living Income. We will be launching our campaign for the Canadian Food Grain Bank. Envelopes will be available in our churches for donations to be made, if you choose.

Next Sunday there will be a 9:30 service in Franklin and in Howick the 11am Sunday service will be combined with the annual meeting for 2020. Annual reports are still available. 

There will be a memorial service held for Helen Nice next Saturday, October 23rd at 2pm in the Franklin United Church. 

St Paul’s Session will meet this Tuesday, October 19th at 7:30pm in the church. (St Paul’s Stewards meeting has been delayed until a later date.)

The catalogues for the Gifts with Vision program have come out from the Philanthropy Unit of the United Church. You can pick one up in the church or check out the more extensive list online. 

Congratulations to Jim and Kelsey Bryson who have had the prize winning pumpkins in a couple of contests. One was actually over 2000 pounds, a new Canadian record! 

And another….