Bath Abbey is holding a Harvest Festival with a difference this year, celebrating Harvest through a series of fun events aimed at exploring the relationship between food and faith.
The Abbey are delighted to announce special guest Dr. Ruth Valerio, Churches & Theology Director at international Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, who will be featuring in a number of events throughout the weekend.
Bath Abbey Missioner Stephen Girling said: “As a nation of food lovers, Harvest is a time of year where crops are plentiful and we enjoy a bounty of easily available food.
“But there is a serious message in the events we are running this year, an opportunity to consider our consumption of food in a broader context. Last year foodbanks fed 913,138 people nationwide.
“Of those helped, 330,205 were children. We want to therefore shine a spotlight on how our relationship with food can be shaped through our faith. This Harvest weekend at Bath Abbey will be fun but also thought provoking.”
Dr. Ruth Valerio, A Rocha UK said: “I am looking forward to celebrating Harvest with Bath Abbey, it will be a fantastic opportunity to ask how we as Christians can be our best when it comes to food.
“Our highly consumerist society has brought many benefits, but it has also been damaging, both socially and environmentally.
“Can we enjoy the goods that it brings while avoiding its problems? The question is; how can we live well in consumer culture?”
Saturday will begin with a free, city leaders breakfast at Brown’s Restaurant, to explore how we can live well in consumer culture.
From 10:45am to 12:45pm the Abbey will be taken over by activities for the young and young at heart, to help us think about our relationship with food and our consumption.
From bulb planting for Christmas, to apple pressing, to decorating ginger bread men and creating reusable shopping bags, this event is being assisted by Waitrose, Transition Bath, Mother’s Union and others.
In the evening the Abbey will again open its doors at 7pm for a two-course candlelit supper cooked by the talented food charity, Surplus Supper Club.
Dinner will be followed by a special lecture from Dr. Ruth Valerio, A Rocha UK.
On Sunday, the weekend will conclude with special services in the Abbey at 09.30 and 11.15.
