By Rev Bill Armstrong, retired Church of Scotland minister

Harvest Thanksgiving remains a fixture in most Church calendars, even though some think it a touch anachronistic. The pattern of life has changed so much that seasonal celebrations – Christmas and Easter apart – don’t exercise the mind as much as they did in the past.

Throughout my formative years, our family lived in a small community in the South West of Scotland. We were as close to nature as many a farming family and were sometimes involved in ‘winning’ the Harvest; and it was the local farmers who decided when the Harvest celebration should take place.

Some years ago I was a member of the chaplaincy team attached to the Largs primary schools. At an assembly I asked the children why they had a holiday in October. I don’t recall any particular answers; my intention was to tell them that when I was their age we called the October break the ‘tattie howkin’ holiday, and I had to explain what that meant. The connection with the countryside had been lost. Another reason for this change could be that supermarkets display and sell many of unseasonal products throughout the year – like strawberries at Christmas.

Last Sunday in Church we celebrated the Harvest. Instead of the lavish array of fruit, flowers and vegetables of past displays, the congregation was encouraged to bring pre-packed goods which would be gifted to a local foodbank.

It’s not that I yearn for the days gone by, though the past is often more appealing. Living, as we did on the edge of the countryside, made us more aware of the produce of the fruitful earth, which we combined with grateful thoughts of the providence of God. Has that link also been lost?