The United Appeal is the Presbyterian Church in Ireland coming together to do what we couldn’t do as individual congregations. United Appeal supports the work of global mission workers, chaplains in hospitals, the forces and prisons. It supports mission at home in local congregations and contributes towards care homes and rehabilitation centres.
Here in Portstewart we benefit from the United Appeal. Michelle Hutchinson, our youth and family worker, is part funded by a grant of £15000 a year for three years from the Council of Mission in Ireland. This has allowed us to continue with the work in the school, the community and of course our own young people. This would be much more difficult without the support of the United Appeal.
Harvest is an opportunity to contribute to the work of United Appeal. In your envelop packs you will find a United Appeal envelop for this Sunday. We are encouraging you to prayerfully consider how you might support this important work. If you don’t have an envelope and would like to contribute please speak to our Treasurer, Robin Gawne, or any of the stewards on duty on Sunday.
In an increasingly busy world Harvest is the opportunity to pause and take in the goodness of God.
This year in our harvest morning service we will be asking what does it mean to Taste and see that the Lord is good. We will of course be surrounded by flowers and vegetables as well as the numerous offerings for the food bank. Surely God’s goodness goes beyond the church decorations, and what is it to taste such goodness? Taste is something we experience, it is one of our 5 senses and so we will seek to experience the goodness of God. There will be a very practical way of experiencing God’s goodness as we will be having lunch together immediately after the service.
In the evening we will continue this theme of experiencing the goodness of God, but this time we will ask how can we know God’s goodness in a difficult season of life. Where is the goodness of God in illness, or bereavement, or unemployment? We will look at God’s promise to restore the lost years found in Joel 2:25. And I will restore to you the years the locust hath eaten.
Why not come along on Sunday 13th October at 10:30 am and 6:30 pm to not only celebrate but experience the goodness of God – regardless of your situation.
The boys and girls in p5-p7 at Portstewart Primary School celebrated harvest in Portstewart Presbyterian Church this week. The boys and girls sang two songs, The Harvest Song and Praise to the one. There were also readings, prayers and poems. A truly wonderful service of worship and thanksgiving.
This year harvest in Portstewart Presbyterian church will be Sunday 9th of October with services at 10:30 am and 6:30 pm with a lunch in aid of Tearfund immediately after the morning service.
Harvest is always a time of celebration and thanksgiving for God’s goodness throughout the year. Even in times of economic hardships, as we have today, it is still important for us to come together and thank God for all that he has given.
Harvest is also an opportunity for us to give back, to share our blessings with others. The harvest festival along with the presentation of gifts of fruit, veg. and other produce comes from the Old Testament festivals of weeks and ingathering. In these festivals the first fruits, sometimes produce taken before the harvest had actually been gathered in, were presented to God in the temple. This was a sign of thanks, but also a willingness for God to have the best of the crop.
It is in this spirit of offering to God the best of our crop that we are asking for gifts which can be distributed to the foodbank. These gifts will be used to decorate the church for the services, a symbolic offering to God, and then afterwards they will be taken to the local foodbank where those who need them most will get them.
Every year our organisations decorate a window, usually with a mixture of harvest offerings and other items that tell the story of what we have been doing throughout the year. The church will be open on Saturday the 8th of October to allow for decorating to take place and gifts to be left in.
Why not come along and help by contributing and also decorating the church for the service. You will be most welcome.
