I shall be on my way back from a study tour of the American mid west on June 1st so will not be able to participate in the LEAF inspired Open Farm Sunday on June 1st. But we did open the farm for last years event and as a result were asked if we would host a Rogation Service for the village church this year. We were pleased to do so.
It happened yesterday and about fifty turned up. The local lay reader led the service as we walked to various points and crops around the farm. From time to time we stopped for a hymn (accompanied by a battery powered keyboard) and a prayer to bless the crop and the countryside around it. The service was based on that distributed by the Rank Centre at the Royal Showground.
At each stop I was invited to explain what we were looking at and what it was used for. Inevitably I used the occasion to express some opinions on world hunger and the need for more production. And to compensate for the fact that the crops were in their early stages of spring growth I showed samples of wheat, together with bread and biscuits made from it; rape seed and a bottle of rape cooking oil grown on a LEAF farm; and so on. The main idea of this was to educate the children but I noticed the adults taking notice as well.
Apart from the hymns and the prayers it was a bit like the Open Sunday we'd hosted a year ago. And without exception the "congregation" thanked us profusely for allowing them to visit the farm. Well worthwhile in my view and it salved my conscience a bit at not being around for June 1st.