Sunday 4 October 2026: Harvest Festival with Pet Blessing Service on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.
Join us in person this Sunday at 10am for our Parish Family Mass as we celebrate our Harvest Festival, with a special Pet Blessing Service on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.
The Liturgy & Service Booklet for our Parish Family Mass, including Readings, Hymns, Prayers & Parish Notices, can be found here:
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You are warmly invited to join us for our Parish Family Mass at 10.00am as we celebrate Harvest Festival and the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, giving thanks to God for the gifts of creation, the food we receive from the earth, and the animals with whom we share our lives.
This Sunday will include a special Pet Blessing Service, and you are warmly invited to bring your pets with you to church. During the service, our animal companions will be blessed as we give thanks for the joy and affection they bring and remember our responsibility to treat all God’s creatures with gentleness and care.
As we gather for worship, our readings invite us to see God’s loving care throughout creation and to consider how we, in turn, are called to cherish the world entrusted to us.
In our first reading from Genesis, God calls Noah and his family out of the ark and tells him to bring with him every kind of living creature—the birds, the animals and all that moves upon the ground—so that life may flourish once again upon the earth. It is a joyful picture of renewal, abundance and God’s care for the whole created order.
In St Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples not to be consumed by worry. He points them instead towards the natural world: “Consider the ravens,” and “Consider how the wild flowers grow.” The birds neither sow nor reap, and the flowers neither labour nor spin, yet God feeds and clothes them. Through these familiar creatures, Jesus teaches us to trust in the loving providence of God.
Our celebration will also include the Presentation of Harvest Gifts, when members of the congregation are invited to bring forward gifts and donations for Ealing Foodbank. As we give thanks for the abundance we enjoy, we remember those who do not have enough and our calling to share God’s gifts generously with others.
Following the example of St Francis, we will give thanks for Mother Earth, for the seeds that are sown and the crops that are harvested, and for all creatures that walk, swim, fly and creep upon the earth. Our prayers will also lead us to reflect upon Fairtrade and justice, animals and all living creatures, our care for creation, and the needs of our world and its people.
Together, our worship reminds us that Harvest thanksgiving is about more than simply celebrating what we have received. It calls us to gratitude, generosity and faithful stewardship: caring for God’s creation, sharing its gifts justly, showing kindness to animals and one another, and recognising the goodness of God in the world around us.
Whether you are a regular member of our congregation, visiting for the first time, bringing a much-loved pet to be blessed, or simply curious to discover more about the Christian faith, Harvest Festival or St Francis, you will receive a very warm welcome.
We look forward to welcoming you—and your animal companions—this Sunday.
