Harvest Festival & Supper

Locusts & Lilies

A well-attended Farmers Club Harvest Festival service at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London was followed by an excellent supper at the Club. Charles Abel reports

Keith Redpath, Club Chairman, and Karen Mercer, newly installed Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers

GETTING back to normal Saint Martin-inthe-Fields church in London welcomed Club members from far and wide to a superb Harvest Festival Service, followed by a delightful Harvest Supper at the Club.

On a fine Autumn afternoon, members were joined by Masters from a number of the City’s Livery Companies, including newly installed Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, Karen Mercer, a long-time Club member.

To celebrate harvest home five trugs of farm produce were carried to the front of the church by committee members.

The magnificent surroundings of the church reverberated to some amazing singing by St Martin’s Voices choir, with the Club’s Honorary Chaplain Reverend Dr Sam Wells leading powerful prayers for the rural community and a captivating sermon from Chairman Keith Redpath’s wife the Reverend Grace Redpath.

Back at the Club food ingredients from UK farms took centre stage in a wonderful Harvest Festival Supper, including Suffolk Pork Belly and Toasted Hazelnut Slice, all created by Head Chef & Director of Food Paul Hogben and his team.

Times of crisis

As the nation emerged from the covid pandemic Revd Grace Redpath took us back 20 years to another time of major crisis, when dust and ashes surrounded the horrors of 9/11 in the USA and, closer to home, foot-and-mouth ravaged the UK.

As that virus wrought devastation across the countryside UK farming experienced one of its most stressful years in recent agricultural history.

Back in the days of Bible prophet Joel locusts could destroy a whole year of crops, a whole community’s livelihood, a whole nation’s survival – in minutes.

At such times of challenge people naturally question God, as they have done during the pandemic. And God is not silent. Joel’s people were comforted by a promise of restoration, something new rising from the ashes: “I will restore the years the locusts have eaten.”

At a personal level, do we too hear God saying he will restore the years the locust has eaten in terms of our regrets, failures and mistakes? That he will gently recreate, reshape and re-form us?

Rather beautifully the Japanese kintsugi method for repairing broken pottery uses special lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum to join the broken pieces – with no attempt to disguise the brokenness. What were once cracks become an integral part of the bowl, reflecting the beautiful bonding agent, with stunning results.

More beautiful

“When our lives are shattered by a terrible trial or tragedy, rather than conceal the damage, out of his compassion for us God puts us back together, creating something more beautiful than before,” Revd Grace reflected.

Matthew’s gospel talks of the futility of worry, despite it seeming impossible not to worry, especially after the 19 months we’ve just experienced. But God loves and values us, even above the birds of the air.

One of Jesus’ suggestions to counteract worry is to “consider the lilies” – to take time to stop, gaze, notice the detail, reflect, contemplate. Just as poet Wendel Berry urges (panel). We get to know God by the things he makes – his fingerprints are everywhere.

“And so, as God has promised to restore the years the locusts have eaten in the larger story of our lives, Jesus is offering daily restoration, healing and hope to us through paying attention to the short-lived beauty of the lilies – an antidote to the anxious, preoccupied lives we sometimes lead,” Revd Grace concluded.

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS,

by American poet, environmental activist and farmer Wendell Berry When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound… I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives, with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars, waiting with their light. For a time, I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. It was a great pleasure on Thursday 7 October, postlockdown, to attend the Farmers Weekly Awards Dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, with Club Chairman Keith Redpath as my guest. There were over 900 guests, including many Farmers Club members, several of whom were finalists, one an award winner, and one a judge! In the Club Bar prior to leaving for the black-tie event it was nice to meet fellow Club member Matthew Curry, an independent FW Awards judge this year. Paul Temple who has been a member of the Club for 14 years won the Mixed Farmer of The Year Award in recognition of his efforts to move his large beef and arable farm near Driffield, Yorks to conservation agriculture, reducing overall nitrogen use by 25% and reducing chemical inputs to help maximise soil biology efficiency. Fellow Club member Ed Brown, of HL Hutchinson in Shropshire, was a finalist in the Arable Advisor of the Year, while Warwickshirebased Club member Edward Burman of Hemp Whole Foods was a finalist in the Environment Champion of the Year Award. Congratulations to all!

Anthony Snell,

Farmer, FC Committee Member and 2020 FW Diversification Award finalist.