Yesterday Her Majesty The Queen attended a National Harvest Service at Westminster Abbey, held in celebration of harvest and in recognition of farmers and those working to tackle food poverty across the United Kingdom.
National Harvest Service – Westminster Abbey
The Queen was joined in the Abbey by 2,000 guests from across the food and farming sectors, including volunteers from food banks and redistribution charities.
To celebrate the harvest, Westminster Abbey was decorated with seasonal displays of British produce. A vintage tractor, carts and barrows, food distribution vans, and crates of fresh apples were arranged throughout the Abbey’s precincts. After the service, produce was donated to those most in need by local homelessness charities and community centres.
A message from The King
The Order of Service included a written message of support from His Majesty The King, in which he said:
‘Celebrating the harvest by gathering together to give thanks for the food from the land is something that is shared by communities all over the world and I am so delighted that this tradition is continuing with a National Harvest Service in a different part of the country every Autumn. As you honour that tradition here today, may it be an opportunity to reflect anew on the refrain from that great harvest-tide hymn: ‘All good gifts around us are sent from heav‘n above; Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all His love.”
About the service
The service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, who said in his Bidding:
‘With harvest home, we gather in this holy place to praise God who creates, redeems, and sustains us. We meet to celebrate the richness of creation and the careful stewardship that precedes the harvest. This is a day of thanksgiving. Yet we must also acknowledge that, in the midst of such plenty, there is hardship, hunger, and the slow suffering of food poverty. In penitence for a responsibility that we all share; we gather here to renew our commitment to justice. The gifts we are given are given for us all. The great in-gathering of harvest must surely be given out to all. So, this is also a day to proclaim a renewed hope and determination. We look and pray for a harvest of righteousness.’
Among those taking part in the service were actor Charles Dance, who read Henry Birtles’ poem The Harvest; and broadcaster Matt Baker, who gave a reading from Deuteronomy 8.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage read his poem Bread of Heaven, which was specially commissioned for the service.
Children from John Perryn Primary School in Ealing processed through the Abbey carrying boxes of harvest produce, accompanied by Tom Bradshaw, President of the National Farmers Union, and Sophie Gregory, a dairy farmer from Dorset.
The Address was given by the Bishop of Ramsbury, the Right Reverend Andrew Rumsey.
Prayers were led by the Reverend Helena Bickley-Percival, Minor Canon and Sacrist, and said by local farmers and volunteers from charities and foodbanks.
Following the service, The Queen met representatives from food distribution charities to hear more about their work to tackle food poverty and to view the harvest displays.
An annual celebration
This year marked the service’s return to the Abbey for the first time since it was inaugurated here in 2013. That service was also held in the presence of The Queen, then The Duchess of Cornwall. Since then, the celebration has travelled to different regions of the country each autumn.
In a message in the Order of Service, Alexia Robinson, founder of Love British Food and organiser of the harvest service, said:
‘Harvest festivals have long played a role in bringing communities together to give thanks for the abundance of food we enjoy from Britain’s beautiful countryside while recognising the importance of sharing food with those who do not have enough. It is a tradition that continues to flourish in other countries, but in Britain it is no longer as established a part of our national calendar as it used to be. We hope that today’s service at Westminster Abbey will help continue this joyous tradition.’
You can read the Order of Service from the service here.
