Dear Friends,

 

October already – more golden sunshine, we hope, and our celebration of harvest, as we give thanks for the abundance of food so freely available to us. We shall, of course, enjoy our usual Harvest Supper (all are welcome, so give the parish office a ring if you haven’t got your ticket). I wondered if this year it might be a good idea to have one of those ‘pot luck’ suppers – do you know the idea? It operates like a raffle: everyone pays the same amount for a ticket (around £5), and then on the night a small number of tickets are drawn out of a hat, and the lucky ones are given a three course meal, with a meaty main course and a delicious dessert. Everyone else has to make do with a plain bowl of rice – they might have a small taste of a simple sauce (perhaps made of lentils) to liven it up a little; and that’s it. They all sit and eat together – the lucky ones, and everyone else. You can imagine some of the thought processes that go on during the meal: most along the lines of ‘This isn’t fair!’, with perhaps the few ‘winners’ reflecting on the inequality, and feeling rather awkward.

 

Well, I did put forward this suggestion to someone - and the response? ‘That wouldn’t go down very well in Wraxall and Failand!’ And that made me think……

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair – but then, it isn’t fair that such a situation is going on every day in our world as we in the West enjoy a wide choice of plenty of everything, while those in the developing world have no choice as to the very basic menu that is all they have. And we know that this is going on, we see it so often on our TV screens – but we have grown accustomed to this inequality, and don’t see it as our responsibility.

 

Incidentally, it’s a salutary thought that in Islam, this is the month of Ramadan, when all Muslims are expected to fast every day, between sunrise and sunset. As well as the self-discipline which this practice develops, Muslims believe that it helps them to empathise with those who are poor and hungry. Perhaps Islam has something to teach us in this respect.

 

Yet, if you were sitting at our Harvest Supper, and  the person next to you had only plain rice, while you were enjoying a three course meal, wouldn’t your natural instinct prompt you to share what was on your plate with your neighbour? Yes….?

 

So this idea wouldn’t go down very well in Wraxall and Failand? Well, perhaps that’s all the more reason for doing it. As we sit down to our Harvest Supper, let’s make sure that we bear in mind those who are not so lucky – and let’s make sure we do something generous about sharing what we have.

 

Don’t worry – you won’t be getting just rice this year at harvest-time; but you can be sure that elsewhere, many people will.

 

Bon appetit!

 

With love,

Rosey