The Crib in Rumburgh Church. As we are still celebrating Epiphany the Crib shows the Three Kings or Wise Men visiting the Holy Family.
I seem to have spent most of the day in church today. I woke this morning to clear skies and when the sun rose everything looked beautiful and sparkling. There was still a strong wind blowing which made it feel much colder outside than it really was.
I had promised my mother that I’d take her to her church this morning, as the services at our church were both in the afternoon. I left home at just after 9.45 am, picked Mum up at 10.10 and got to Eye just after 10.30. There were a couple of places near the church where I could park which is the advantage of arriving a little early. The service went well but is always much longer than our one and by the time we left the skies were beginning to cloud over. I dropped Mum back at her house at about 12.30 and then went home for something to eat.
Richard and I went to the Plough Service at our church this afternoon. We set out in plenty of time for the 3.00 pm start but we discovered the road was blocked by a fallen tree. It wasn’t a large tree and most of it was dead but it was very heavy and Richard and I really struggled to get it to the side of the road. By the time we had got it half way to the side a few other cars had arrived and first a woman in the car behind us and then a man from a car two behind her and then a young man who had driven up from the opposite direction all got out to help clear the road. Richard, the woman and I had managed to get it almost to the side of the road by dragging it one way but the young man said he would be able to get it further off the road by taking it a different way. He was very strong and put the tree over his shoulder and with the other men’s help he got it right off the road.
The cover of the Plough Sunday service sheet
To quote from the service sheet –
‘The Blessing of the Plough is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday after Epiphany, January 6th. Often the plough was feted and drawn through the streets to be blessed in church. This was thought to ensure food for the coming year. The following day, Plough Monday, was the first day that work in the fields recommenced after Christmas’.
The decorated plough in our church
A local family bring their plough into the church and decorate it with ribbons and rosettes.
A farmer or his representative says:
‘Reverend Sir, we come to ask for God’s blessing on the work of the farmers of our country, of which this plough is a sign and token’.
To which the Minister replies:
‘I welcome you in the name of the Creator God who made this earth and all life upon it’.
The short service that follows includes verses from Psalm 104 which is a lovely song of praise for all creation and is worth a read for the wonderful phrases like ‘…..You cause grass to grow for the cattle,/ and plants for man to cultivate,/ to bring forth food from the earth,/ and wine to gladden the human heart.’
‘…..You bring darkness, it becomes night,/ and all the beasts of the forest come creeping out.’
In the service we acknowledge our forgetfulness and our gratitude for God’s Gifts. The blessing of the plough follows and then ‘God Speed the Plough’ – some verses about ploughing.
‘God Speed the Plough,/ the plough and the ploughman,/ the farm and the farmer,/ God Speed the Plough.
God Speed the Plough,/ the beam and the mouldboard,/ the slade and the sidecap,/ the share and the coulters,/ God Speed the Plough.
God Speed the Plough,/ on hillside and in valley,/ on land which is rich and on land that is poor,/ in countries beyond the seas,/ and in our homeland,/ God Speed the Plough.
God Speed the Plough,/ in fair weather and foul,/ in rain and wind, in frost and sunshine,/God Speed the Plough.
We are then blessed and we sing the harvest hymn ‘ We Plough the Fields and Scatter the Good Seed on the Land’. Even though there were only eight of us in the church we all sang heartily and made a joyful noise. And the service was over.
The Rector, Richard and I tidied up and blew out the candles and then had a pleasant chat together for a while until it was time for the Rector to leave for home. He is still suffering from a bad cold and has to visit hospital very soon to be assessed for heart surgery. He will have some fairly unpleasant procedures to go through and we wish him very well.
Richard and I had put the heater on in the Ringing Chamber (where the bell-ringers ring) and after Richard had done some maintenance in the church and tidied up the candles we sat and read and talked and Richard drank some coffee he had brought with him in a flask and waited for the next service to start at 4.30 pm.
Maurice our Elder arrived to take Evening Prayers and three other people joined us for the service. Maurice always prepares his services so well; it is a pity more people don’t come to hear him.
A Suffolk Lane 
What a lovely tradition you have there 🙂
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Thank-you, Arlene. I think it’s lovely too. When I lived in the town I had no idea that some churches in farming areas continued this extremely old service.
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What a beautiful service, Clare. Thank you for sharing.
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It’s a pleasure ,Jill and thank-you!
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Sounds like a wonderful traditional service, here’s hoping that the farmers do have a bountiful harvest this year!
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Thank-you, Jerry! I hope so too.
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Clare, I am very glad to read this. You paint such a marvelous picture of the service and its meaning. Is this similar to the Rogation prayers?
Someone recently said that the thing he misses from not going to church is the ritual of the seasons. But even in our church parish – which had been mainly a farming community – we don’t follow the seasons as closely as your churches seem to.
Thanks for another interesting post.
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Thank-you, Cynthia. There are not many churches, I find, that use this service regularly. The family who own the plough are very keen to keep the old customs going. They also belong to the local folk groups I featured in the Carols and Capers post just before Christmas. The service is very similar to the Rogation service when we bless the land as opposed to the plough. I once went on a’ beat the bounds’ Rogation walk which was really interesting but tiring. We walked all round the border of the parish and said prayers regularly at gates and trees and streams. We also celebrate Lammastide (loaf mass) on the 1st August or the closest Sunday to it. The first wheat is harvested and a loaf made from it – or that’s what used to happen anyway!
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I’ve never heard of Plough Sunday but it’s easy to understand why it was so important at one time. A lot of lives depended on what those farmers grew and one bad year could mean real devastation. We’re luckier today than we know!
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I agree Allen, thank-you. I am glad the prayers include ‘countries beyond the seas’ as this includes many countries suffering from drought and floods where the people are starving. Whatever happens in this country we won’t suffer as much as those poor people.
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How grand to be young and strong enough to cart a tree away.
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He was a sight to behold!
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The plough is such a strong metaphor for the work of billions of ordinary heroes through the millennia who provided for their families in the face of great adversity. Thank you for teaching me about this tradition.
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Thank-you Roger, my pleasure. I agree completely. To quote the service we took part in again – ‘The plough is the foundation of our work and a symbol of our labour’.
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Such a pleasure to read about Plough Sunday. I had a quick google to see if I could find references to Plough Sunday services in NZ but didn’t see any, not even in our old newspaper archives. Thank you for reminding me of the lovely old hymn “We plough the fields…”
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Thank-you! I only know of this church locally that celebrates Plough Sunday. I looked on the Church of England web-site where I found order of service suggestions and prayers to use so there must be others around somewhere. I grew up in the town and never came across this service myself until fairly recently. I watched a documentary on TV a couple of years ago that talked about Plough Monday and the folk songs attached to it (having to go back to work on the cold fields after Christmas!). A young film maker/producer came to our church two years ago and filmed us and said that the film was part of a bigger project he was working on. We are waiting to see if anything comes of it!
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Oh that would be interesting if something does come of it. My great great grandfather came to NZ as a blacksmith and became quite famous for his farm equipment, ploughs included, I think. Plough Monday would have been something familiar to him I would have thought. NZ has ploughing competitions each year and usually participates in the World Ploughing Championships ( this year in Denmark) ; it’s a wonder more is not know about religious celebrations concerning ploughing, particularly considering our strong Anglican traditions.
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Yes I agree. Not only the religious traditions but the farming and pioneering history too.
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I found this fascinating – there is something very special about a tradition that goes back and back. It links us to the past, to all the people who have gone before us and done as you did on plough Sunday. Wonderful.
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Thank-you, Rachel. That is what I felt while I was taking part in the service.
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I like the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great content.
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Thank you very much for your kind comment.
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“Having read this I thought it was very enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!”
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Thank you for commenting, Clair. I spend much too much time reading and commenting!
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