A Lammas service
1 August 2021
Celebrating Lammas
What is Lammas?
Lammastide is an ancient Christian festival which many villages and farming communities have rediscovered in recent years.
It is the festival of thanksgiving to God for the start of the harvest, where corn and bread are offered as symbols of gratitude.
The name comes from the the Old English word for ‘loaf’, hlaf, which is followed by ‘mass’, mas, to indicate a Christian festival at which the Eucharist is celebrated.
As the feast of the first fruits, Lammas may have particular significance this year for many reasons. During the upheaval of the past 18 months there has been a renewed appreciation of food and where it comes from. We all need food and stopping to think about how we are fed and giving thanks is something we can do as communities.
Lammas is a festival that goes back to the medieval church and occurs on the 1st August. The first fruits of the cereal harvest were made into a loaf for the mass. The summer could be a lean time for food as winter stores had run out and the new crops were still growing.
It is an older tradition than harvest festivals, which celebrate the time when ‘all the harvest is safely gathered in.’
Why not bring community together, and make some bread enjoying the process the stories and the prayers that will emerge?
Or perhaps go for a walk and give thanks for those you see caring for the crops.
Revd Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches
Lammas: What does the Bible say?
Deuteronomy 26 1-11
When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.”
The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.
“But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labour.
“Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression.
“So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.
“He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him.
Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel are told that when they settle in the promised land, they are to bring the first fruits of their harvest to God and remember all that has happened to them as they give thanks. As a previously wandering community, this harvest would be a sign of rootedness and stability in the land God had given them. As they settle, they should not forget their history. They are reminded to see God’s provision in so many ways.
Are we as aware of God’s provision ?
How do we give thanks for, and share what we have?
This Gospel reading is often used at this time of year. People come to Jesus looking for a sign, they have seen the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 and talk of the Manna that fed their ancestors in the wilderness. Jesus accuses them of being more interested in filling their stomachs rather than calling on God.
Jesus calls himself the bread of life. Bread, so essential to us representing the food we need to nourish our bodies. Jesus takes this a step further reminding us that he too is essential, essential to our spiritual lives and our relationships with God. If we spend time reflecting on Jesus and listening to God, our spiritual lives will be nourished.
How can we spend more time listening to God?
How can we share the good news with others?
John 6 28-35
Then [the disciples] asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’a]”>”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
A Blessing
May the love of God which gives life to the world, sustain you;
May the bread of life, Jesus Christ, feed you with the food that endures to eternal life;
May the power of the Holy Spirit nourish and strengthen you in faith.
Amen
A reflection
There is no such thing as ‘my bread’. All bread is ours and is given to me, to others through me, and to me through others. For not only bread, but all things necessary for sustenance in this life, are given on loan to us with others, and because of others and for others, and to others through us.
(Meister Eckhart, 1290-1329)
Prayer
Prayers for the dedication of crops and bread:
Farmer: I bring these cereal plants tokens of the first fruits of our harvest
Loving God we give you thanks for the first fruits of the harvest.
As the crops continue to ripen and are gathered, we pray for those who will work long hours to bring in the crop. Bless them with good weather, but most of all bless them with a sense of your presence in all they do.
Amen
Baker: I bring this loaf token of all the food with which we are blessed.
Bountiful God we give you thanks for our food. Bless all those who grow and prepare it so that we may be fed. Help us never to forget the needs of all your children as we share our daily bread.
Amen
Loving God
You give us everything that we need to flourish,
Your bounty is all around us.
Forgive us when we forget to give you thanks,
and take your gifts for granted.
Forgive us when we forget to share,
and our brothers and sisters go hungry.
Help us to live in gratitude and to ensure
that all your children may have what they need to flourish.
In Jesus name we ask it.
Amen
Prayer for making bread
Creator God, thank you for the flour and those who produce it.
Thank you for the yeast that bubbles up to make the bread.
Thank you for water and for salt that adds flavour.
Thank you for the smell of bread baking.
Thank you for those who will share this bread with me.
Amen
Prayers by Revd Elizabeth Clark
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