Summer draws to a close around us, and we mark the turning of the seasons in various different ways. First, the feast of Michael and All Angels, which we celebrate together this Sunday 29th of September. Michaelmas, which gave its name to the historic ‘Michaelmas Term’ (now largely replaced by ‘Autumn Term’) was in the medieval period understood to be a ‘Quarter Day’, marking the ending/beginning of one quarter of the year. Next week, Sunday 6th of October, we will be keeping our Harvest Festivals across the Ministry Area in our own church buildings.

Harvest is a time for thanksgiving. It is from the Greek word for thanksgiving – eukharistos – that we get our English church-word, ‘eucharist’. In the most ancient liturgies of the church, following a careful reading of the Apostolic instruction in 1 Corinthians, the ‘eucharistic prayer’ (the prayer of thanksgiving) preceded the consecration (the prayer of setting apart); and moreover, the eucharistic prayer concerned not only bread and wine – but the tithes and offerings of the church given from grateful hearts.

Although we no longer keep the worshiping customs of the Early Church precisely, you can detect an echo of it in the part of our service of Holy Communion called the offertory, when the bread and wine and collection is all brought up together. On Harvest Sunday, we may bring other gifts for the relief of the poor, too. These will resemble much more profoundly the Eucharistic offering of the Early Church.

Alpha: Begins next year. Designed to be a space where people can talk about faith in a welcoming environment, it is a great opportunity to invite those you know who don’t yet come to church. Think about who you are praying for, and who you might invite.

Alpha will always begin with a simple supper at 7pm, followed by a video-led discussion. Alpha facilitates conversations about faith in a welcoming environment.  You can sign up now.