Stories from Growing Good

St Luke's Prestonville is a small church close to the centre of Brighton that hosts and supports a number of community organisations and projects. Some of these activities are run by members of the congregation but a large proportion of them are volunteer-led by people with a passion for the particular project.

Getting involved with the Growing Good course provoked the church to think about how they might acknowledge, celebrate and engage all those participating in the community around St Luke's.

Last harvest they held a service that focused on the work of the Real Junk Food Project which provides a free lunch twice a week, and the community gardening project that uses a small piece of church land. The project volunteers were invited to attend the service and talk about their work.

Reverend Martin Poole said, 'It was an opportunity to celebrate the amazing work of each of these groups, to say thank you to all the volunteers who give their time, and to show them that what they do connects to the faith life of the church and ultimately to the nature of a God who shares their passion for caring the poor and needy, the outcast and destitute, the lonely and forgotten.'

This harvest we’re producing a free resource pack to help churches give thanks and celebrate all the gifts in your community.

Harvest is a time when everyone is invited to bring their gifts, to reflect on God's goodness to us and to give thanks.

Including prayers, activity ideas for all ages and sermon notes, the resources reflect the Growing Good theme of participation – inviting everyone to be part of what’s going on.