On this page you will find information, ideas and resources related to farming festivals and the farming year, Farming Support, Fishing and Food Awareness Days to help with sharing messages about local food production and various farming issues
Farming Festivals and The Farming Year
Plough Sunday - Sunday after Epiphany
Plough Sunday is a traditional English celebration of the beginning of the agricultural year that has seen some revival over recent years. Plough Sunday celebrations often involve bringing a ploughshare into a church with prayers for the blessing of the land. It is traditionally held on the Sunday after Epiphany, the Sunday between 7 January and 13 January.
Further Info and Resources
Services for the Year from Church of England Resource Times and Seasons
Plough Sunday service from DCRF resource pages
Plough Sunday Service from Arthur Rank Centre
Farming Support
Farming Health Awareness Week - 22nd to 25th February 2022 - 2023 dates to be confirmed when known
Ideas: Advertise farming support charities on church noticeboards, develop awareness of farming health in pastoral care teams, publish an article in the parish mag, ask the FCN to give a talk, speak in a service or arrange some training for your church.
https://www.farminghelp.co.uk/
Forage Aid - Emergency animal feed and bedding
Lambing / The Good Shepherd - April
Perhaps a service on a farm, organising a visit to a lambing shed if the farmer can cope? Or a children's service to connect the stories of the Good Shepherd to the world around.
Lambing Service from Arthur Rank Centre
Rogationtide - May
Links to resources:
Rogation Service from DCRF Resource Pages
Rogation Sunday Idea from DCRF Resource pages
Rogation Service from Arthur Rank Centre
Open Farm Sunday - 11th June 2023
Organised by LEAF - from their website
"LEAF Open Farm Sunday, managed by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), is one of the farming industry’s biggest success stories. Since the first Open Farm Sunday in 2006, over 1600 farmers across the UK have opened their gates and welcomed over 2.7 million people onto farms for one Sunday each year.
It is a fantastic opportunity for everyone, young and old, to discover at first hand what it means to be a farmer and the fabulous work they do producing our food, enhancing the countryside and all the goods and services farmers provide.
Each event is unique based around the farm’s individual story. Activities during the day may include a farm walk, nature trail, tractor and trailer rides, demonstrations, pond dipping, activities for children, a mini farmers market or farm shop"
Arrange a service on a farm, and / or a visit, work with participating farmers to advertise events, help organise hospitality on the day?
Agricultural Shows - May to September
We are blessed with many agricultural shows taking place in villages and small towns, in the regional parts of our county as well as the Dvon County Show itself. These are joyful and celebratory events - a chance to celebrate the good and leave at least some of the worries behind for the day and are a highlight of the year for many farmers, growers and others in our communities. Many churches - often ecumenically - often host acts of worship, offer cream teas and other hospitality, and also support some of the farming agencies present such as FCN.
Lammas Day - Loaf Mass - August 1st
Lammas celebrates the first fruits of the harvest, as distinct from harvest festival when we celebrate the harvest "safely gathered in". It lends itself to a service on a farm or in church - perhaps with bread making activities for children and families to present, bless - and eat? - in the service.
Lammas - The Arthur Rank Centre
Praying through the Celtic year - Lughnasadh (faithandworship.com)
Creationtide
Creationtide runs from 1st September to 4th October (St Francis's Day) - and appears both in this section - and in the Christian Festivals section as there is so much overlap of material.
This link takes you to the Church of England's resources page for Creationtide - which includes material for harvest - see below - and many other opportunities for worship.
Harvest - dates various
There are so many traditions surrounding harvest - fantstic thankful hymns, harvest suppers and lunches for all the community to gether, the most beuatiful (in the editor's opinion!) flowers of the church year, harvest loaves, harvest auctions, processions of harvest offerings - so much is traditional it seems hardly necessary to offer the list!
Could you hold a service or event on a local farm? Perhaps you don't know your farmers as well as you would like - perhaps a special invitation yto take part in the service - or a visit to learn about the harvest and others issues (once all is safelyt gathered in of course!).
It's also a time to share with churches in more urban areas where sometimes the links to farming and produce are not as strong as they once were. If you are in a mixed deanery or Circuit perhaps share speakers from the rural and urban parts across the range of churches.
Harvest festivals can also be part of the way we support our farmers by communicationg news about the harvest and the farming year to our congregations and beyond. The Devon Churches Rural Forum has produced harvest briefings and updates on farming for the past few years - and you can find the 2022 one here.
As always, the Arthur Rank Centre has lots of resources for harvest celebrations. The theme for the 2022 harvest is "Thank you to our Farmers" - you can find a link to this resource here - and from there navigate to other ARC resources.
Here you can find links to some Harvest Festival services shared by members of the DCRF
Here you will find a link to the Harvest Thanksgiving Material from the Church of England's Times and Seasons Resources
As well as a traditional harvest festival - this link will take you to an article about "Harvest Fun in Peter Tavy" - a day of fun and games, food, celebration and worship.