Sing to the Lord of Harvest

In Guyana, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving.  But in November, churches at least, celebrate Harvest festivals.  The church is decorated with local produce, and the theme of the day takes a break from the long sundays of Pentecost to give thanks for the Lord's bounty.  The timing of the celebration in this land of near perpetual harvest seems to come from the North American and European connections that most of the Christian Churches have.  Also there is an ulterior motive by way of a special collection that rivals Christmas or Easter in size.  Still, as one of the Caribbean hymns proclaims:

 The fields of sugarcane and rice are ready to be reaped.

 We'll thank the Lord, in him rejoice, for food galore now heaped.

 And in a country where poverty and hunger are never too far away, a harvest festival becomes important -- a chance to see abundance in the context of our worship, when more often we see the struggle to make ends meet and keep food on the table.
   Harvest is not the festival of homecoming that Thanksgiving has become in North America.  There are no Pilgrims or Turkeys [unless you count the turkey hot dogs for sale in the Supermarkets].  It's not even the same Sunday in every church.  But it is a festival anticipated and enjoyed by everyone -- a festival of thankfulness that goes beyond mere survival -- a time to know that no matter what our circumstance, we are blessed.

Something worth celebrating.

The new car

The Parish has a new car.  New means something a bit different in Guyana.  This is a 9 year-old car imported from Japan.  The good news is that it comes from Japan, so the steering wheel is on the proper side [the right side, in fact], the mileage is low [though odometers are often rolled back even before leaving Japan], and it has been well-cared-for.  Unfortunately, the Owner's Manual is all in Japanese, but most bits are intuitive or have pictures.  In light of what I mentioned before - this being the land of seconds - a 9 year-old 'new' car shouldn't be a big surprise.  It is inexpensive, and in this climate will last a long time [the retired Parish car is 23 years old and was sold on to another person who won't be taking it on long trips].  Currently, everything works in the car - all the windows go up and down, the A/C works, and the power door opens and closes!  I think of the car we drove in Saskatchewan that we kept for 11 years - far beyond when most North Americans are ready to get rid of a car just because it is old.  This car is already 9 years old and could last another 14 years or more.  Of course, the weather and the miles [km] put on a car in N.A. do take their toll, but how many of us trade our cars just because we want something shiny?
  So, along with our T-shirts, and our plates, and our pots and pans [ours came from J.C.Pennys, even though there is no store around], we buy used cars that look and feel new, and carry on with our lives.

For those of you who are interested, here's the description:
This is a Toyota Raum - A Japanese car with a German name. Raum is often translated as 'room' but is more accurately, Space.  The Raum is so named because it is spacious for its class.  Besides its roominess, it affords easy access to both front and back seats, making it ideal for a Parish car which often transports folks to and from distant events.  The power door [sliding door on the passenger side] is handy as long as you can convince passengers that it is a power door and keep them from trying to manhandle it.
  It has been duly blessed, complete with cross and Bible in procession.  I have to say that we will enjoy the car during our time here.

270 Years

[Part of the congregation]

On October 16th, we celebrated 270 years of Lutheran ministry in Guyana.  Ebenezer was the first congregation, so the celebration happened here.  It was a sea of red [the colour for festivals of the church] in the assembly and a joyous time for all.  The history of Lutherans in Guyana has been a checkered one - nearly dying out or becoming dependent on others at times.  But it continued, and we celebrated together, filling Ebenezer and spilling outside.

[The Canadian High Commissioner and her family;
Pastors from Suriname - Lutherans all.]

President of the church, Moses Prashad, preached not only of history but of the future.  In our history, there were those times when we persevered rather than give up, when we struggled back from the brink to become stronger.  And we move into the future, not just holding on, but proclaiming the Gospel in all its fullness, not what we want to do, but what the Gospel compels us to do.

Vivian and I come new to this Church, having come from the oldest Lutheran Church in Canada which is only 241 years old this year.  But the history is not as important as the ministry.  We celebrate the past, but we must live in the present and look toward the future.  Our message is the same one that was proclaimed 270 years ago, or nearly 500 years ago when the reformation started - or even from the beginning as St. Paul writes --

2 Corinthians 5:17-18

17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

We proclaim the Gospel, through Word and Sacrament, word and deed.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord.