After the summer of people coming and going, holidays, and uncertain schedules, we finally returned to worship. Although it felt strange coming back up the hill after so many weeks away, entering the space of worship and exciting greetings of old friends and a few new faces, I sensed familiarity, warmth, and rejoicing in community.
The theme of worship through the summer had connected with gardening. From preparing the garden soil, to sowing seeds, to nurturing plants, to the harvest, we journeyed through the metaphor of our lives and spirit. Sometimes we were the gardeners, sometimes the soil, sometimes the seed, and sometimes the weed.
On this week of returning, though, the final celebration had come. The harvest! One by one, members brought baskets and plates and bowls filled with colourful fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
We sang and danced, giving thanks to God the giver of all good things: for the harvest of food in our gardens, but even more for the harvest of God’s work in the life of this community.
Relationships sowed in ready soil, nurtured over the past year as we fellowshipped together, and a harvest of joy at being reunited in worship to the One who enables us to call strangers, “sister” and “brother.” A true celebration of thanksgiving.
