St Giles' marks 'Harvest Thanksgiving' service with tractor and trailer

A tractor and trailer were parked outside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh to illustrate the hard work of Scotland's farmers.

A Harvest Thanksgiving Service took place at the historic site, which celebrates its 900th anniversary this year, on Sunday.

It was conducted by Rev Sigrid Marten, Associate Minister of St Giles' Cathedral.

She said: "The gathering in of the harvest has been celebrated over thousands of years by many cultures and religious traditions.

"This season is a time for giving thanks to God and reflecting on the stories Jesus told of sowing and harvesting as parables of our spiritual growth and the spreading of God's word of love."

Local produce

The service was attended by representatives of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) and acknowledged the extremely challenging weather conditions that Scotland's farmers have faced ahead of this year's harvest.

Displays of seasonal vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, parsnips, broccoli and pumpkins, were donated by RHASS Directors for the service from farms across the country to shine a light on the array of local produce grown in Scotland.

Following the service, the produce on display was donated to Edinburgh charities, Empty Kitchens Full Hearts, the Grassmarket Community Project – a project connected to Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh - and the Salvation Army Hostel, to allow the produce to be turned into healthy meals for people in need.

Those arriving at Sunday's service were greeted by a John Deere tractor and a Stewart trailer outside of the cathedral, which were kindly provided by Thomas Sherriff of Haddington, to showcase the machinery used by farmers to assist in the harvest of our local produce.

Ms Marten said: "We are delighted to have once again worked closely together with RHASS to draw the attention of passers-by, highlighting both our Harvest Festival Service, as well as more generally the vital role that Scottish farmers play in providing food.

"Bringing farming equipment to the Royal Mile is one way to remind us of our dependence on those who work hard to produce our food."

Catherine Jones, social enterprise director at the Grassmarket Project, said: "We are delighted to accept this wonderful donation of fresh produce.

"We feed over 230 vulnerable adults each week, that's 230 adults who have very little access to nutritious food.

"It is very unfortunate that in this country, we are still seeing people suffering food poverty every day, so this donation will help us alleviate it a little for the people that we support.

"We are very grateful to St Giles' Cathedral for all the support that they give to us, and we would like to thank RHASS and all of the hardworking farmers who have provided us with all of these fresh vegetables."

Essential role

RHET, The Royal Highland Education Trust, also featured a display about harvest across the weekend of celebrations.

RHASS chairman, James Logan, said: "Our role at RHASS is to champion Scotland's rural community all year around but following farmers being faced with one of their most challenging harvests to date, after a cool and wet summer, Sunday's service was a great moment to acknowledge the resilience of those across the industry and to thank our farmers for their continued efforts when faced with such circumstances.

"It also allowed us to express how grateful we are for the wonderful fruits and vegetables that are grown on our doorstep.

"We thank our local farmers for donating items which local Edinburgh charities have now benefited from and to everyone who was able to join us for this service.

"We hope it helped to bring to life the efforts of our farming community who play an essential role in bringing food to our plates every day."