Harvest 2025

Harvest is always a special time in the Church Calendar. One that notoriously draws a crowd to a church building that is beautifully decorated and adorned with produce and autumnal ambience. However, this year was perhaps more special than others.

As a Church, we decided that Harvest should, in fact, be a festival, lasting the entire week. For the first time, both Holy Trinity and St Patrick’s would host a range of services and social events that served the entire Parish.

On Sunday 12th October, St Patrick’s kicked things off with their service at 10am. We know how beautiful St Patrick’s building already is, but the hard work from the team in the village made the place shine even brighter.

Rev Willie and Rev Cosmin led that service of celebration with many parishioners and people from the community in attendance. Willie’s sermon illustration, using a melon, will be one to be remembered for some time yet.

On Monday 12th, another special service was held in St Patrick’s that saw the choir and the local flute band leading the worship together. This was then followed by a harvest supper in the hall.

A special thanks must go to the band, the choir, and the ladies who served the tea.

St Patrick’s Harvest Supper

Some may call St Patrick’s “the wee church” but they sure know how to throw a BIG harvest celebration.

The Tractor Run

For the first time ever, Seaptrick Parish hosted a tractor run on Saturday, 18th October. This was a tremendous event that saw tractors departing from Holy Trinity car park, driving around the parish to then return for a hearty bowl of stew.

This was a fantastic event hosted by our fundraising team, led by Julie McCreanor. Money was raised for the B Positive charity, a cause close to everyone in the community’s heart.

We had a great turnout from parishioners, community representatives, and we even had a family of piglets join us for their supper too.

To conclude our Harvest festival, we held a combined worship service that saw all three of our services combined into one. With over 400 congregants in attendance, it was nothing short of amazing.

Our choir and praise group came together to lead worship while Rev Willie and Rev Cosmin led the service. This time a banana was the illustration, but equally one to be remembered for a while. You can watch the service below.

This past week of celebrations proves to us that indeed the Harvest is plentiful. We are so very grateful to our Ministry team, our select vestry, faithful volunteers, as well as all of our parishioners who faithfully serve and attend this parish.

God is doing great things in our town, and it is a privilege to be a part of that great work.

Matthew 9:35-28 says. . .

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

As Willie preached on Sunday past, let us be a Church that reaps the harvest while it is ripe and ready for picking. We can see the fruits of the harvest begin to come in through events like those we experienced this week, however there is more to be done.

I want to leave you with the words of Galatians 6:9

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

May we use the hype and celebration of this harvest weeked to remember that we are called to serve the amazing town of Banbridge, advancing the kingdom for the glory of God.

Amen