Preparing for Harvest at SBC
I’m writing this article just ten days into September but looking out of my office window onto a church car park that has been slowly filling up with golden leaves for the last few weeks. I’m sure I’m not the only one among us who has been disconcerted by autumn’s early arrival. Fruit has been ready to pick from trees ahead of normal schedules and even acorns have been hitting the ground in August.
This change in nature’s behaviour has been attributed to the unprecedented heat we’ve experienced in recent months. Summer 2025 has been confirmed by the Met Office as the warmest on record, with a mean temperature – including overnight lows and daytime highs – of 16.1°C. To put that figure in context, it’s 1.51°C higher than the long-term average, an eyebrow-raising rise that’s the result of a summer of four separate heatwaves.
As temperatures have risen, so nature has struggled to adapt. The changes we’ve seen in trees this year have been explained in striking terms by Kathryn Brown, the director of climate change and evidence at the Wildlife Trusts: ‘Trees will set seed [earlier] as a reaction to stress, because they’re trying to employ an insurance strategy.’ 1
1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/19/early-ripening-berries-uk-shows-nature -under-stress-experts
When I came across those words on a stressed natural order, I found it hard not to think of Paul’s description of its travails in Romans 8: We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22) The changes that we’ve recently seen have implications for animals as well as vegetation. A recent BBC article has described just a few of these troubling changes: Earthworms, which feed badgers and hedgehogs, are living inside rock hard and dry soil, meaning the animals could struggle to dig to find them and may have to travel further for food. Birds will look for fruits like blackberries to ‘sustain them through the autumn and winter,’ she says. But where the crop comes early, the birds could go hungry. Bees are also showing signs of shutting down for the winter, after flowering plants finished producing pollen and nectar in the hot weather. That could leave bees without enough food.2 Considering these changes, it seems apt that this year’s morning Harvest service at SBC will focus on climate change, reflecting on how we can respond to what’s happening as faithful and responsible stewards of God’s creation.
Our speaker will be Jo Herbert-James, Head of Engagement at A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment. During this service we will also be collecting food and other items for The Selsdon Primary School Hub which caters for families in need, providing food, essential clothing and other items. The hub consists of a food bank for all families to access, a selection of pre-loved uniform and used books to share. We would be grateful for any donations of the following items that you can provide
2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2enmn7j3zjo
Food items: Cereal/oats Baby food Rice Pasta Tinned tomatoes or vegetables Tinned meat Tinned fish Pasta sauce or cooking sauces Lentils and pulses Spaghetti and beans Tea Coffee Sugar Tinned fruit Biscuits
Toiletries: Toothpaste Soap or shower gel Shampoo and conditioner Sanitary items Toilet paper Nappies Wipes
Other items: Washing powder Washing-up liquid Household cleaning items Pre-loved school uniform or PE kit Pet food