Dear Siblings in Christ,
On one of my rest days in September, Adrian and I went for a walk in the Dedham Vale near Stratford St Mary. We saw a combine harvester working in one field, but most of the summer crops had already been harvested. There were a couple of fields of root vegetables that looked almost ready for picking. We enjoyed snacking on the wild blackberries in the field hedges which were also ripe!
The footpath that we were on took us across the middle of a field that had been harvested. The furrows from the harvesting went in one direction across the field, and there was a plough in the field turning over the soil making new furrows at a different angle.
It didn’t take as long to discover that the field had been full of onions, because scattered across the field were small onions that have been left behind and were now being ploughed into the soil. I was reminded of the Old Testament practice of leaving gleanings. Leviticus 19 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.” While I am sure that the leftover onions will help fertilize the soil, I was saddened by the waste of food. I give thanks for the groups in the UK that do glean some fields and then distribute the food.
As we continue our circuit focus on climate action leading up to COP26, I discovered that every year an estimated 2.5 billion tonnes of food goes to waste – more than half of this before it even reaches the shops. This mountain of food waste – the majority of which is fresh, edible food when it gets chucked – contributes around 10% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. If you want to speak out about and have your voice heard by Boris Johnson, then there is information on the climate action campaigns page of our website. Look near the bottom of the list for a petition from Feedback specifically about food. As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of the earth, sharing our resources so none go hungry.
I am excited that on Saturday 30th October, we will be joining together from around the whole circuit for a soup lunch at Museum Street. This is timed to be just in advance of COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference which is being held from 1st to 12th November. Drop by between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for tea/coffee and/or lunch or come for the whole three hours. There will be display boards to learn from, lots of discussion, some tips on ways to act and an opportunity to pray for the global summit, and more. We are hopeful that there may even be a special guest! See the news article and poster here and invite your friends to join you.
Learn more about the circuit’s climate action focus here: https://methodistic.org.uk/climate-action/ and anywhere you see this climate action picture. There is a different topic for each week and a prayer for each week and lots of ways to learn, speak out, take action and inspire hope. There’s even a climate tip for the day and a downloadable prayer card.
Here is October’s preaching plan (*=communion, HF=Harvest Festival, LA=Local Arrangement). Or download the plan for the whole circuit.
| Museum St 10.45 a.m. | Chantry 9.30 a.m. | Landseer Rd 11 a.m. | Video from 6 a.m. | |
| 3rd Oct | Nichols | Pell (Harvest & Parade) | No Service (Fellowship at 2 p.m.) | J Cassidy |
| 10th Oct | Welbourn | D Sawyer (Prisons Sunday) | *Pell | Jacobs |
| 17th Oct | *Pell | D Sawyer | No Service (Fellowship at 2 p.m.) | Sankey |
| 24th Oct | LA with B Lindsay | *Pell | Pell | Gardner |
| 31st Oct | Pell | @Museum Street | @Museum Street | Welbourn |
The October issue of our joint magazine for the three churches has been published. Read it here.
In Christ
–Pastor Joan
Joan’s Jottings are written to the churches at Museum Street, Landseer Road and Chantry where Joan is the minister, and a monthly summary is shared here for all to read.