The Green, Green, Grass of home. 

I had a short break away last month and when I returned how the lawns had greened up. After our summer sunshine and dry days the rains had come and refreshed the ground and instead of straw coloured lawn, there it was in all its green glory! 

Its good to go on holiday but its always nice to come home, and now that the grass has grown the work will resume, mowing, edging, weeding etc etc. 

September is the month when so much work starts up again, schools begin their Autumn term, and the churches in our benefices start thinking about harvest festivals. It seems that around here most farms reap their harvest in August, but traditionally the church remembers harvest in September or early October, and it may be by then the farms will have started ploughing for next year, and so we see the cycle of ploughing, sowing, growing and reaping all over again. 

In different parts of the world it seems the weather has proved too much for us humans to cope with, floods in Pakistan, mud slides in China, extreme heat and fires of crops in Russia, it can make you thankful of our lack of extreme weather conditions in this country. Many countries in Africa also experience extreme weather conditions and their people struggle to grow enough food. 

This year our Harvest Festival money collections will go to the Bishop of St Albans Harvest Appeal (www.harvestappeal.org ). The appeal is entitled 'Fruits of Justice' and through the Anglican church in the Teso region of Uganda, and the help of the charity 'Tearfund' the appeal will help farmers and families grow crops that can cope with the changing climatic conditions. 

I do hope you will be able to come to one of our Harvest Festivals, and that you will wish to make a contribution to the Bishop's appeal. We have so much to be thankful here in this area of Hertfordshire with the green green grass of home. We will of course be having the usual fruit and vegetables and flowers decorating the churches, and displays of non perishable food as well. The perishable goods will be sold outside St Ippolyts church on the Green on Monday 4th October at school out time, with the monies raised going to the Bishop's appeal. The non perishable goods will as usual go to the North Herts Sanctuary based in Hitchin to help feed the men and women who find themselves to be without homes or food this autumn. 

As I write this I have already received one catalogue advertising Christmas cards, -- the year moves on, the evenings draw in and Autumn is upon us. The season of mellow fruitfulness, its often called. Lets hope this year it will also be a season of 'fruits of justice', so that folk in Uganda and other parts of the world will be able to look forward to ploughing, sowing growing and reaping. 

Maybe in our Christian lives this autumn we may also find time to plough through what we believe, sow a few seeds as we tell others of Jesus, continue to grow in our own faith by study, prayer and worship so that God may reap the harvest. 

Now I'd better get out there and mow that green grass! 

with love