Harvest Festival - 2

To Thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise in hymns of adoration,
To Thee bring sacrifice of praise with shouts of exultation.
Bright robes of gold the fields adorn, the hills with joy are ringing,
The valleys stand so thick with corn that even they are singing.

And now, on this our festal day, Thy bounteous hand confessing,
Upon Thine altar, Lord, we lay the firstfruits of Thy blessing.
By Thee all human souls are fed with gifts of grace supernal;
Thou, who gives us our daily bread, give us the bread eternal.

We bear the burden of the day, and often toil seems dreary;
But labour ends with sunset ray, and rest comes for the weary.
May we, the angel reaping over, stand at the last accepted,
Christ’s golden sheaves, forevermore to garners bright elected.

O blessèd is that land of God where saints abide forever,
Where golden fields spread fair and broad, where flows the crystal river.
The strains of all its holy throng with ours today are blending;
Thrice blessèd is that harvest song which never hath an ending.

Harvest Festival - 1

Summer is ended, and today we start our celebration of harvest.



Heavenly Father,
you visit the earth and bless it,
you crown the year with your goodness:
We bless you for the fruits of the earth
which you have given for our use,
and we pray you
to sow the seed of your word in our hearts,
that it may bear fruit in our lives,
until we are gathered into your heavenly kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
give his angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
to thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels come,
raise the glorious harvest home.



Happy Sunday!

The Pilgrims Table - 4

It is always good to praise our unsung heroes (or heroines) and here is one - Mrs Mildred Dougan.



Mildred has helped run The Pilgrims Table for many years and has put in hours of hard labour. I dread to think how many gallons of soup she must have made! Here she is seen taking a break after a particularly gruelling shift. A well-deserved Scotch pancake!

The Pilgrims Table - 3

There's nothing like a good cup of tea or coffee at mid-morning! One idea we introduced this year was 'Suspended Coffee'.



Many years ago in Naples, Italy, a tradition was born... Espresso Sospeso. Translating as 'suspended coffee', the idea is simple. Someone goes into a cafe, bakery, restaurant and pre-purchases a coffee or food. This is then a 'suspended coffee'

Someone in need can then go into the business and ask if they have any suspended coffees. They are then provided with warmth and nourishment at no cost to themselves.

Just to be clear - the couple in this photo are not drinking suspended coffees.

The Pilgrims Table - 2

As you can see, The Pilgrims Table is located in a very beautiful building - the Old Boys School.



The Old Girls School is now called Bishop Eden School and is located about half a mile from the Cathedral. The Old Boys School is located within the Cathedral grounds.

The Pilgrims Table - 1

The Pilgrims Table at St Andrew's Cathedral Inverness has now closed for the winter - but here is a photo taken during the summer months.



We had visitors from all parts of the world who enjoyed the excellent hospitality.

Summer in my Garden - 19

I think my summer bedding plants got quite upset when they read my blog yesterday morning. They thought they were about to be put into the garden waste bin!



Well, I'm not that cruel - they have a few more weeks yet - unless Jack Frost decides to visit my garden. The red, white, and blue colour scheme shows that I wish Scotland to stay part of the UK. Alex Salmond would not approve!

I harvested my potatoes yesterday - ready for Harvest Festival on Sunday.