09/09/2025
For those who were unable to attend our special service on Sunday...
HUNTINGDON ECUMENICAL COMMUNITY
ANNUAL SERVICE IN THE PARK 2025
CELEBRATION OF HARVEST & THE CHANGING SEASON
WORDS OF WELCOME
Welcome, friends and neighbours, to this gathering where we celebrate the turning of the season, the gifts of harvest, and God’s faithful presence. We come together, under open sky, to give thanks, to reflect, and to remember that in every ending, God plants a new beginning.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We, as an Ecumenical Community, acknowledge that we are located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodian of the lands and waters on which we gather today. The land on which we stand is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples from other nations of the globe and we recognize that we are all stewards of the land, water and air.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader:
Come, people of God, gather in this sacred outdoor space, beneath the open sky, upon land that has known the footsteps of many generations.
Come, with hearts full of thanks for the beauty of the earth: for fields dressed in gold, for trees clothed in crimson and amber, for the cool breeze that carries the scent of fallen leaves.
Come, with stories of labour and rest, of seeds planted in faith and harvests gathered in hope.
Come, carrying joys and burdens alike, trusting that here, God meets us as we are.
People:
We come to worship the Creator of sun and soil, of river and rock.
Leader:
Come, to remember that every season holds the presence of God:
In spring’s new shoots, in summer’s warmth, in autumn’s letting go, and in winter’s quiet rest.
People:
We come, grateful for life’s rhythms, and for grace that renews us day by day.
Leader:
Come, let us lift our voices and hearts together:
to praise the One who gives abundance beyond measure, who teaches us to sow in hope and to reap with thanksgiving.
People:
Together, let us worship our God, whose love is the seed, the harvest, and the promise yet to come.
HYMN: Come, You Thankful People, Come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imK0j7eBJsc&list=RDimK0j7eBJsc&start_radio=1
OPENING PRAYER (LEADER)
God of all seasons, in the softening light of autumn, we pause to marvel at your creation: the flaming trees, the crisp air, the smell of earth ready for rest. We thank you for the harvest – food that sustains us, and work that fulfils us. Forgive us for times we forget to notice your gifts or take more than we need. Teach us to live in harmony with the earth and each other. Plant in us gratitude and trust that lasts beyond this season. Amen.
SEASONAL POEM: The Blessing of Autumn (by Joyce Rupp)
To autumn’s gold we bow in thanks,
for fruit and field, for gathered grain.
May each falling leaf remind us:
life’s beauty is in surrender,
and in each letting go, God shapes something new.
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 104:10–18
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
REFLECTING ON THE SCRIPTURES:
The psalmist reminds us of God’s intimate care over all creation: mountains and valleys, animals and forests alike. In this season of harvest, we remember we are part of this web of life—not masters of it, but stewards called to wonder and gratitude. As God provides for the sparrow and the cedar, so too God provides for us, often in ways unseen.
When we see the fields lie empty, the trees lose their leaves, and daylight fade earlier, we remember that change is sacred. God is in the seed that falls to earth, in the soil that rests, in our own times of waiting. Harvest time teaches us: it is not what we store away but what we share, that matters most.
HYMN: For the Beauty of the Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy7t2Uasqe8&list=RDZy7t2Uasqe8&start_radio=1
SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 6:25–33
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labour or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”
For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
Reflecting on the Scriptures:
In autumn, as flowers fade and fields rest, Jesus’ words call us back to trust: trust in God’s care, which holds us beyond what we can see or plan. The lilies bloom without anxiety; the ravens are fed though they neither sow nor reap. We too are invited to lay down our worries, to live each day rooted in the knowledge that we are beloved and that God knows our needs.
SEASONAL READING: Harvest (by John O’Donohue)
May the harvest grant us a sense of abundance:
Not only in what fills our barns,
But in friendship, kindness, and shared joy.
May we see God’s blessing, not just in full tables,
But in hearts made glad by giving.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER: (LEADER & PEOPLE)
Leader:
For the gift of changing seasons, for the colours that dazzle and the quiet that follows,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
For fields and gardens, orchards and vineyards; for food gathered, shared, and preserved,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
For the hands that planted and watered, harvested and baked; for labour seen and unseen,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
For the lessons of autumn: that there is beauty in letting go, and hope hidden in waiting,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
For the fellowship we share, for neighbours known and strangers welcomed,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
For your promise that seasons of scarcity will be met with grace, and winters with your sustaining love,
People:
We give thanks, O God.
Leader:
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, help us to see your hand in every falling leaf, every ripened fruit, every quiet dawn.
People:
May gratitude rise in us like morning light, and flow outward in acts of love.
Amen.
HYMN: In the bulb there is a flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvic4QxgsVo&list=RDlvic4QxgsVo&start_radio=1
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (read responsively)
Leader:
God of all creation, in this season of harvest, we come before you with hearts both grateful and concerned.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
We pray for farmers and farm workers, fishers and beekeepers, who work with creation’s rhythms and face its unpredictability. Give them strength and a fair return for their labour.
For all whose harvests have failed due to drought, flood, fire, or conflict. May help arrive swiftly and justice shape our shared systems.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
We pray for Indigenous communities whose stewardship of the land teaches us respect and balance. May we honour treaties, seek truth, and walk humbly toward reconciliation.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
For those who hunger in body or spirit; refugees far from home; elders facing loneliness; young people burdened by anxiety. Surround them with your comfort and stir us to compassionate action.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
For our common home: the rivers that quench thirst, the forests that breathe for us, the creatures whose songs are prayers of praise. Teach us to live lightly, to protect and restore what has been harmed.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
For this gathered community, that in our differences we may find strength, and in shared worship, find hope renewed.
Response:
God of grace, hear our prayer.
Leader:
Holy One, gather these prayers—spoken and unspoken—into your heart of mercy. May your Spirit guide our words into deeds, and our hopes into harvests of justice and peace.
Leader: Gathering all our prayers, we say together:
All: Our Father...
HYMN: All Things Bright and Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUnQMvwaXlc&list=RDiUnQMvwaXlc&start_radio=1
CLOSING POEM: In Each Season (by Jan Richardson)
In every turning,
May we find God’s blessing.
In every ending,
May we find God’s beginning.
In every harvest gathered,
May we find reason to share.
In every seed buried,
May we trust in new life.
BENEDICTION
Go now, into autumn’s embrace:
May the bright leaves remind you that letting go can be beautiful,
And the bare branches teach you that emptiness can hold promise.
May the cool wind awaken your spirit,
The turning earth steady your steps,
And the shortening days deepen your rest.
May your life reflect the generosity of the fields,
Your words carry the gentleness of falling leaves,
And your heart hold the hope of seeds yet unseen.
And may God—Creator of the seasons, Christ the Bread of Life, and the Spirit who breathes through all bless you, keep you, and send you forth,
To love and to serve, this day and always.
All:
Amen.
CHORAL AMEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8jmTSIepjE&list=RDX8jmTSIepjE&start_radio=1
