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Study One

This session will allow people to greet each other for the series, will look at harvest and nature festivals from the Torah, and will be a chance to plan a harvest celebration.

Gather
Have materials for making creative and colourful name plaques.
As people arrive invite them to create a name plaque that they can
show to others and which will capture some of their creativity.
When this is done, sit in a circle, show your plaque and name, then invite others to do the same.

Greet
Welcome people to this Lenten series. Explain that it will be related to our current season of autumn. Read an appropriate poem or meditation which catches the autumn theme e.g. Going Deeper, by Anne Powell, in FIRESONG; or Keats’ Ode to Autumn.

Read
Exodus 23:14-16. Explain that these three harvest festivals were: 
1. Barley harvest, March-April.  Pre- Hebrew Canaanite harvest
Came to celebrate Passover.
Christians celebrate Easter.

2. Wheat harvest, 7 weeks after Passover. Pentecost (50 days).
Came to celebrate the giving of the Law.
Christians celebrate Holy Spirit experience in Acts 2 and the beginning of the Christian Church.
3. Autumn grape harvest.  People built temporary shelters, tabernacles, booths in the harvest fields.
Came to celebrate wilderness wanderings.

Discuss
What are the key agricultural/natural seasons in Aotearoa/New Zealand?
 How do these relate to the Christian celebrations?
 If autumn is a time of plenty and prosperity, how can we best use this to prepare for Easter?

Read
Deuteronomy 26:1-11.
 The harvest ceremony involved reciting the community story, offering harvest fruits, and celebrating together as a community, sharing the gifts of harvest.

Plan
How can we celebrate harvest appropriately?
1. Tell the story of our faith-origins.  This might be a synopsis of the Christian Gospel, or the story of our Treaty-based country, or the key elements of our local or national church story.  In USA, Thanksgiving is a major family festival. It includes relating the story of the early settlers and their first good harvest (with indigenous help), as well as giving thanks for the family’s life and love.  Decide how your group will tell your story.
2. Give thank-offerings.  What is the best way for your group/church to bring the harvest bounty?
3. Community celebration of the shared fruits.  How can your church or local community have such a celebration?

Act
Having discussed plans and ideas, which of these can really be put into action?  Can you do this as a whole group, or split into smaller groups to action?  Is it impossible to do more than talk about the possibilities?  Be realistic.

Reflect
Now sit quietly, listen to your breathing, or some quiet music.
 Invite people to comment on this session, their learnings, insights, questions, decisions.
 Conclude with a prayer.