Our harvest celebrations came to a fitting climax on Sunday evening with a Festival Evensong at St Swithun’s, Martyr Worthy. Both choir and congregation were all in good voice, enjoying their favourite Harvest hymns, and the church was looking at its best—with floral decorations all around.

It was good to hear Verity Coleman and Simon Ffennell giving a ‘dramatic reading’ from Ruth chapter 2—with its account of Ruth working in the harvest fields of her husband-to-be, Boaz. And the sermon then focused on how, in this beautiful story, God was revealing his grace and mercy to Ruth and Naomi, bringing them in from the ‘margins’ to be right at the centre of his people—ancestors of King David and, much later, of Jesus.

I hope you will enjoy it. May the prayer of Boaz be answered, not just for Ruth, but for each one of us:

“May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12)