It’s Harvest time!

September fundraiser for Concern at St Mary's Church in Nenagh

The tractors rumble past with loads of barley and other crops, and those of us with gardens continue to enjoy our fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts.

We in the Church of Ireland always celebrate this by decorating our churches for a Harvest Festival Service at which we give thanks to God for all we have. Yet, this isn’t true for everyone in the world. The World Food Programme describes a ring of fire stretching around the world, where conflict and climate shocks are driving millions of people to the brink of starvation.

Did any of us understand the importance of what Ukraine has provided until now? And the floods in Pakistan are almost beyond imagining. As the climate spokesman there said, the land is flat and flooded — there is no place for the water to run off.

This year our churches will be decorated as they always are for our Harvest Festivals but we have decided to open St Mary’s in Nenagh to the public not only for display, but to raise money by voluntary donation, all of which will go to Concern for their work reducing world hunger. We have plenty of people in Ireland who are struggling but it is a rare person who can’t find a bit of help somewhere. In many countries, there is nowhere to turn. Even the charities that provide support are stretched to their limit because the need is so great in so many places.

If you would like to visit us, you are most welcome. If you would like to donate, thank you, but you are welcome even if you do not.

St Mary’s Church of Ireland on Church Road, Nenagh, will be open to view the Harvest decorations on Saturday, September 17 from 2-5pm and Sunday, September 18 from 12-3pm. Our Harvest Festival Eucharist will start at 3pm on the Sunday, at which you are also welcome if you would like to celebrate the harvest with us.