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Dear Friends,
September feels like a season of beginnings. For some it means starting a new school, university or job. Congratulations go to our own Ashanti, Miriam and Eloise on their exam success! For us older folk this time of year brings back memories of new shoes, pristine exercise books and the smell of chalk dust. There is a ‘nip’ in the morning air reminding us that summer is almost at an end. Autumn offically begins on Sunday 22nd September which is the day of our Harvest Festival. This year we’ll be celebrating the richness of our cultural diversity with a bring and share Harvest brunch after the service. We do hope you will be able to come along to this time of feasting, fun and fellowship.

Sharing food is powerful. When sitting with dining companions we have the opportunity to talk and laugh and learn. When sitting down at the table we actually have the chance to taste what we eat, rather than shovelling it in as we watch some mindless TV programme. To my shame that describes me much of the time! Food is a gift, as are all those who have prepared it – from the server to the cook, to the person who grew and picked the vegetables or reared the animals we carnivores enjoy. Although many of us may dine alone, meals remind us that we are part of a vast network of relationships, often stretching across the globe. 

I am sure you will remember the story of the enormous turnip – one of my favourites from childhood days. The farmer may have grown this gigantic veggie, but he needed help from his wife, son, daughter, granchildren, dog, cat and even a mouse to budge it from the ground. Afterwards it was cooked up to make a delicious repast shared by all. The moral of the tale is of course, that we are made for communion, which is a holy thing – something we recall in a special way each time we meet Jesus in the Eucharist. Like it or not, we all need other people.

During the season of Harvest we are invited to particularly remember our duty to those who do not have enough to eat.
According to the child poverty action group, 4.3 million children (30% of all UK children) were living in poverty in 2022/23. World poverty statistics tell us that approximately 9.2% of the global population, or about 700 million people, live in extreme poverty today. These statistics are rightly shocking. It is up to us to change them. As follwers of Christ we are to be his hands and feet in the world today. It is up to us to share the gifts we have been so richly blessed with. As well as making regular contributions to help people in need, everyone is invited to bring gifts of non perishable foodstuffs to the service on the 22nd which will be given to the Purley Food Hub (see list of most wanted items below). There will also be a collection plate available to make donations to Christian Aid, a charity which does to so much to help the most disadvantaged people in the world.

In the words of John D. Rockerfeller; “Think of giving not as a duty, but as a privilege.” Or as Jesus himself said; “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:38). May we all respond to the love of the Lord with generosity this month, so that there may indeed be a Harvest for the world.

Your vicar and parish canine friend, Esther and Jessie  xx