harvest festival

When I first arrived at this little chapel I was warned that it was like stepping back in time thirty years but I was quite happy with that. I use the pulpit, wear a dog collar on special occasions and we have a 'hymn sandwich' service. Thirty years ago at the suburban church I attended it was decided that we should no longer decorate the church and bring along our baskets of fruit and vegetables for the Harvest Festival - no-one seemed to want them afterwards - all the Old People's Homes were overwhelmed with so much produce from so many churches that they could not use. So we were asked to bring tins and if my memory serves me right - used tins with money inside!
Here at Zoar we still celebrate Harvest in a big way, especially as it is a farming community and this year the farmers are very happy, having had an excellent harvest.
Apologies for the quality of the photo - it has come to me via a pc onto my mac and gone blurry but there is corn and fruit and vegetables, bread, eggs, coal and salt along with flowers on every window sill. 
After the service, flowers were sent to those unable to attend and the vegetables were taken to make soup, apples taken to make pies, other fruit to make fruit salad ready for our Harvest Lunch on Saturday. We have quite a reputation for our Harvest Lunch and others come from out-lying chapels and the Vicar comes from up the road and no-one will need to eat for the rest of the day after the four-course meal of soup, salad with ham and meat and/or a veggie quiche, dessert and cheese and biscuits, tea and coffee! The flowers and the remaining fruit and vegetables will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the BMS (Baptist Missionary Society). There will be much fun and laughter.