VICAR'S LETTER

17 Sundon Road     
Streatley      

October 2006     

Dear All 

At the end of the summer holidays we staged "Megaquest.” It was an event with two purposes. The first purpose was to provide a fun activity morning for the children of the church and their friends. To this end it included magic, games, and the chance to improve your circus skills. The second purpose was to open up the themes to be explored in Sunday School and Sunday Club in the weeks leading up to Harvest Festival.

We began by celebrating the beauty and bounty of the earth. Seven giant posters were assembled, each featuring a different aspect of earth's diverse life. One focussed on its plants. Others focussed on the creatures that inhabit its land, its skies, and its seas. Another assembled the family of man.

But then, having celebrated the beauty and diversity of the world, we went on to reflect on its fragility. We reflected on the power of pollution, both great and small, to spoil it. We reflected on the power of human wars and greed to ravage it. We reflected on the effects of that process of global warming that our activities have set in train.

And, finally, from reflection, we moved to prayer. From the church's stock of Christmas tree decorations, every-one present was given a shiny ball. They were asked to imagine that this ball was the earth. It was beautiful. It was fragile. It was in their hands. Then, holding the decorations, we joined together in a simple hymn (The words between the verses are spoken, not sung):

Ours is a lovely world,
The sky, the earth, the sea,
The birds, the beasts, the flowers,
All that we see.

BUT

Ours is a fragile world.
It needs our loving care
That life may still go on
Everywhere.

SO

Lord, may we treat with love
The world that's in our hands
That joy and love and peace
May fill all its lands.

These days Harvest Festival is acquiring an additional dimension. It still expresses the gratitude that all must feel for the beauty and bounty of our earth. Increasingly, however, it also expresses that awareness that all must share of the fragility of that earth and of our responsibility for its welfare. These were the themes of "Megaquest". They will also be the themes of our Harvest Festival celebrations.

All best wishes

Roger

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