On 3 October, St James’ Primary Academy held their annual Harvest celebration, which included a collective worship service at St James’ Church, Pokesdown. Revd Rachel Noël, the vicar of St James, led the service, accompanied by Bishop Geoff Annas, the Acting Bishop of Southampton. Bishop Geoff gave a talk while dressed as Super Tato, a superhero potato on CBeebies, to the delight of the children. The children themselves were dressed as fruits, vegetables, and other harvest goods, from beans and carrots to a whole punnet of strawberries!
The theme of the talk was about what makes a person ‘super’, with the children encouraged to think about attributes that they appreciated in others. Kindness and generosity were explored, which was a springboard for Bishop Geoff to explain why we gather harvest goods to give to others at this time of year.
Living in Bournemouth, we’re not surrounded by fields and the agricultural year, so it feels particularly important to mark harvest with our school, church and community, to give thanks for creation and where our food comes from.
We shared harvest services in the church, with parents joining too, and a marvellous collection of items for the local foodbank. During school activities the children learned about fair trade, tried different foods, and in the service we particularly thought about generosity and kindness. I think it’s a really important time of year for us all to stop and think about where our food comes from, to give thanks for God’s creation and for all the people involved in that food reaching our plates.
Revd Rachel Noël
Harvest goods were collected at the front of the church, which were later taken to the local food bank. During the service for children in Reception, parents and carers were also invited, and for many it was their first visit to the church, as well as the first opportunity for them to see how the students engage with faith and the community.
A wonderful Harvest Celebration but not surprising when you bring together an inspiring Headteacher backed by enthusiastic and caring staff with an equally inspiring Vicar backed by an equally enthusiastic and caring Church Family! But the stars of the day were the pupils with their amazing costumes, great singing and very generous gifts for the Food Bank. They were supported by a large number of parents and carers, some of whom had not visited St James Church before but really enjoyed sharing in the worship.
This is a what can happen when a brilliant School and a brilliant Parish Church work together – Pokesdown is very blessed!
Bishop Geoff
See more photos from St James’ Harvest celebrations on our Flickr page.
