Which faiths celebrate harvest

According to religious doctrine, God alone controls the weather and enables the riches of the Earth to grow. The harvest time follows the New Year—when ceremonies are held to purge evil spirits from the land—by about one month.

The harvest festival is dedicated to the rice goddess and is a time of joyous celebration. Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On large mechanized farms, harvesting utilizes the most expensive and sophisticated farm machinery, such as the combine harvester. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The sunset, and the morning That brightens up the sky: The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one.

The tall trees in the green wood, The meadows where we play, The rushes by the water We gather every day: He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. Mrs C. Alexander — Bread for the children, justice, joy, peace sunrise to sunset your kingdom increase! God of the poor, friend of the weak, give us compassion we pray: melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain; come, change our love from a spark to a flame Refuge from cruel wars, havens from fear, cities for sanctuary, freedoms to share.

Peace to the killing-fields scorched earth to green Christ for the bitterness his cross for the pain. Rest for the ravaged earth, oceans and streams plundered and poisoned — our future, our dreams.

Lord, end our madness carelessness, greed make us content with the things that we need. God of the poor… Lighten our darkness, breathe on this flame until your justice burns brightly again; until the nations learn of your ways, seek your salvation and bring you their praise. God of the poor… Graham Kendrick. For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take his harvest home; from his field shall purge away all that doth offend, that day; give his angels charge at last In the fire the tares to cast, but the fruitful ears to store In his care for evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come — bring thy final harvest home! Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local church where they were then used as the communion bread during a special thanksgiving service.

On 1st October , Rev. He wanted people to say 'thank-you' to God for the harvest. This has remained a tradition ever since. The Jews would give a tenth of the harvest to God. This was known as a tithe see Leviticus In this country, farmers used to give a tithe of everything that came from the ground. The themes each take one key idea and explore it. We would suggest you take those elements that make best sense for you, and combine them to make a special service for your own congregation.

But what do we mean? Sometimes the way we speak about God as Creator makes Him sound like an absentee landlord. We can perhaps learn from Hindu thought, in which three aspects of the Divine make life possible: Brahma who brings each world to be; Vishnu who sustains it and struggles against the evil that threatens to overwhelm it; and Shiva who destroys the worlds at the end of their time.

Christians do not see the creation in this cyclical way, but perhaps we need to remember how, once something has been created, it still needs sustaining and protecting or nurturing. In considering God the Creator we also need to look at what role we have. The Bible depicts humans almost as co-creators with God, ruling on behalf of God but only so long as we remain faithful to what he wants for the world.

What are we to make of the purpose of the rest of creation? Millions of years have passed in the life of the planet. Evolution and geological forces have created species, mountains and valleys that no human being ever saw.

Can we believe that all existence was made solely for us? There is a Jewish saying that nobody should read the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis while sitting alone, for there are so many unanswered and unanswerable questions that they would be driven insane.

This dramatic section shows that all life has meaning in its own right because it is known, sustained and loved by God. New Testament: John I: and The role of Christ as Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer helps us to see that the world's creation, existence and purpose are interlinked. Creation is not a mere stage for humanity to perform upon. It is part of the cast. Now we need a human covenant to promise that we will stop destroying this beautiful earth.

Unlike God we cannot bring back the creatures that we make extinct. Brothers and sisters in creation, We covenant this day with you and with all creation yet to be; With every living creature and all that contains and sustains you; With all that is on earth and with the earth itself; With all that lives in the waters and with the waters themselves; With all that flies in the skies and with the sky itself.

We establish this covenant, That all our powers will be used to prevent your destruction. We confess that it is our own kind who put you at risk of death. We ask for your trust. And as a symbol of our intention We mark our covenant with you by the rainbow. This is the sign of the covenant between ourselves And every living thing that is found on the earth. He has given you the freedom to fly wherever you wish and he has clothed you so fully.

Moreover he preserved your kind in the ark of Noah so that you might not die out. Again, you are beholden to him for the very air that he has given to you. Furthermore, you do not sow nor reap yet God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains from which you drink, He gives you mountains and valleys as places of refuge and the tall trees in which to build your nests.

Because you do not know how to sew or spin, God clothes you and your young: you can see how much God loves you in that he gives you so much. Guard yourselves therefore my sisters the birds from the sin of ingratitude and be ever mindful to give praise to God.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, humanity is viewed as God's final and finest creation, set apart from all the rest. This is reinforced in the story of Noah with the command: "Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.

Be the terror and the dread of all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven" Gen. It is this strand in Christianity that has been accused of fostering the attitudes of exploitation and domination that have caused our current environmental crisis.

The concept of stewardship has always been tied in with that of mastery. After all, Noah did build an ark to help save all species. And when God makes his covenant after the flood, it is made with: "you, your descendants after you and with every living creature to be found with you, birds, cattle and every wild beast with you: everything which came out of the ark, everything which lives on the earth.

One of the dangers of modern thinking is how the rest of Creation is seen as subservient to our needs.