The Suffolk Harvest Festival was celebrated at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Sunday 1 October. With a focus on farming and living water, we were delighted that farmers, families, school children from Wetheringsett CofE Primary School and animals were all in attendance.
The animals represented our county’s heritage and included Suffolk Punch horses and Suffolk Sheep.
Farming Live! offered a great, interactive, engaging demonstration from local Suffolk farmers which included farm machines on the Cathedral grounds for the public to get up and close with. There were also interactive demonstrations with machinery, crops and farming in general which was a great hit with the younger visitors!
Bishop Martin led the Harvest Service, and was joined by Beth Duchesne from Farming Live in conversation with Andrew Blenkiron, Estate Director at the Euston Estate and Patrick Barker, E J Barker & Sons, Lodge Farm as they discussed the Harvest theme of water in regard to farming in the county.
The Harvest Festival was organised in collaboration with Lightwave; a Christian community with a special focus on sharing God’s light and love in rural areas of Suffolk. Their work has many aspects from foodbanks, youth work, environmental initiatives and pastoral care for the farming community. The Lightwave Rural and Agricultural Chaplaincy team were at the Harvest Festival and Lightwave Rural Chaplain, Graham Miles, who spends a lot of time supporting the farming community in Suffolk said,
“This year has seen challenges for farmers in the region, including heavy rainfall delaying harvests. The Harvest Festival was a chance to reflect and give thanks for the work farmers and agricultural workers do, and the food they produce to feed our country.”
Donations of food will be sent to the Gatehouse foodbank, an independent charity that works with the vulnerable throughout East Anglia, aiming to provide three days of emergency food to people in need.
