Could it be just an accident of language that the letters to form the words have and share are both contained in the word harvest? And they are not the only ones. Eat and starve are there too: and surprisingly so are ears and hear!

Now, I love playing with words and letters to see what I can make of them. But I cannot play with the letters of harvest without thinking how I handle the bounties that are readily on hand for me to enjoy. Do we have ears to hear and understand something of the needs of others?

I was at a conference recently where it was clearly set out that the flow of wealth in our world is actually from the poor countries of the world to the rich!

Harvest thanksgiving is a long-standing tradition. I would ask that each of you who read this would mark it with a gift to help the poor of the world as an act of compassion and thanksgiving.

Here is but one suggestion.

5000 children die each day from water related diseases.

The charity Water Aid states, “It costs just �15 to provide somebody in the developing world with a lasting supply of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.”

What multiple of �15 could you give this month as an act of thanksgiving this harvest time?

The address of Water Aid is: Water Aid, 47-49 Durham Street,London, SE11 5JD

With my greetings, Jim Stevens

PS Harvest Festival at St. Paul�s is on Sunday 23rd September