Hymns for Harvest
No fixed date, no lectionary provision, and the best-attended non-festival Sunday of the autumn.
Harvest Festival has no fixed date. Most parishes hold it on a Sunday in late September or early October, often the one nearest the harvest moon, and in rural parishes often co-ordinated with neighbouring churches so the same families are not asked twice.
| Hymn | Where it sits | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Come, ye thankful people, come | Opening | Alford; St George’s Windsor. The harvest hymn |
| We plough the fields and scatter | Opening or offertory | Wir pflügen. Public domain |
| For the beauty of the earth | Gradual | Pierpoint. Public domain |
| All things bright and beautiful | All-age | Alexander. Public domain |
| Great is thy faithfulness | Offertory | Chisholm. In copyright — check your licence |
| Now thank we all our God | Final | Nun danket. Public domain |
| To thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise | Offertory | Golden Sheaves. Public domain |
What the service usually contains
- The presentation of gifts — increasingly tinned goods for a food bank rather than produce, which changes the shape of the procession and is worth printing clearly.
- A reading from Deuteronomy 8, Joel 2 or Deuteronomy 26, and commonly the Gospel of the lilies of the field.
- All-age involvement — harvest is one of the two or three Sundays a year when the children are visibly at the front.
- Notice of where the gifts go. People give more when they know, and it belongs in the booklet, not only in the notices.
Readings
Common Worship provides harvest propers rather than using the Sunday lectionary, so the day’s ordinary readings are set aside. If your parish keeps to the lectionary instead, look the Sunday up and use its readings as normal.
Questions
What hymns are sung at Harvest Festival?
Come, ye thankful people, come; We plough the fields and scatter; For the beauty of the earth; All things bright and beautiful; and Now thank we all our God.
When is Harvest Festival held?
There is no fixed date. Most parishes choose a Sunday in late September or early October, often the one nearest the harvest moon.