Plough Blessing Service 2017

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Blessing the Plough, church service, folk dance, Molly Men, Old Glory, Plough Monday, Plough Sunday, Rumburgh, St Felix and St Michael's church Rumburgh, Suffolk

Those of you who have been reading my posts for a while will recognise the title of this one.  Every year my church of St Felix and St Michael at Rumburgh holds a special Plough Blessing service on the first Sunday after Epiphany.   Epiphany is on the 6th of January and celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.  The first Sunday after Epiphany is Plough Sunday and the following day is Plough Monday when traditionally, work on the land is recommenced after the Christmas break.  These days there is no real break for Christmas and farm workers do not suffer from the terrible poverty they did in former times though they are still not very highly-paid.  Here is a link to the ‘Old Glory’ site of our local Molly Men.  Please take time to look at all their pages if you can.

The decorated plough in the nave of the church

The decorated plough

I enjoy this short service each year.  In it, we look forward to spring, summer and harvest and pray that not only will there be enough warmth and rain to grow the crops but that we will not take anything for granted and will thank God for his care of us.  We don’t just pray for ourselves but for all farmers throughout the world.  Each component of the plough is blessed – the beam, the mouldboard, the slade, the sidecap, the share and the coulters.

I love the words from the prayer of gratitude.

From God comes every good and perfect gift:  

The rich soil, the smell of the fresh-turned earth.

The keenness of a winter’s frost and our breath steaming.

The hum of the tractor, the gleam of a cutting edge.

The beauty of a clean-cut furrow, the sweep of a well-ploughed field.

The hymn at the end of the service is ‘We Plough the Fields, and Scatter…’

During Harvest-tide we get a little tired of singing this hymn as all the churches in our benefice have their own harvest service and the hymn is very popular, especially with the farming families.  However, singing it at this time of year, so gloomy and cold as it is, gives hope and cheer so we all sing with gusto!

The plough and some of the costumes of the Molly Men.

The plough is left in the church over-night and is ready to be processed down the lane to the pub the next evening on Plough Monday.  There are no street lights here and the nights are black at this time of the year.  Flaming torches are carried to light the way.  This year they won’t be accompanied by the church bells which will be silent out of respect to one of the ringers who died suddenly a few days ago.

Here is a film made in 2010 of the procession of Old Glory with the plough from the church to the Rumburgh ‘Buck’ pub.

Thanks for visiting!

Plough Sunday

Tags

church service, Evening Prayers, Plough Sunday, Rumburgh

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. 

13th January 2014

Tags

bird feeders, Coffee morning, Epiphany, HGV menace, Jacob sheep, Mary Berry apple cake, medieval churches, Pakenham Water Mill flour, Plough Sunday

I have been so busy for the past ten days I have had no time to add anything to my blog. The post-Christmas clear-up took ages and then I had to catch up on jobs that had been put to one side during the holiday. I am almost back to normal now and have time to write a brief resumé of the things that have happened recently.
Sat 4th Jan:A wet and windy day again. R and I went to the Rector’s Coffee Morning which he holds on the first Saturday of every month. We took a couple of things for the Bring and Buy stall and bought a book and some home-made marmalade (Rector’s special recipe with whisky!) We also won a pair of neon yellow gloves and some chocolate in the raffle – hmmm! An enjoyable event as usual where we heard all the gossip and had a laugh. Went on to the farm shop where we bought strong wholemeal flour. They stock Pakenham Water Mill flour which is the most beautiful silky flour and makes the best bread I have ever tasted.
Sun 5th Jan: A beautiful sunny still morning for a change. R and I decided to walk to church this morning. The Eucharist service was at St Margaret’s which is the church nearest to us (a mile away) but is not our parish church which is a mile and a half away – we live on the parish border. Despite the sun there was still ice on the road. 2nd Sunday in Christmas, so we had our last chance to sing carols. Lovely birdsong on the way home and we looked at the Jacob sheep in the field opposite the end of our lane. A cloudy afternoon during which I cleaned and sterilised all my bird tables and feeders.
Mon 6th Jan: Epiphany and all the decorations to be taken down and put away. I would like to be able to keep the crib out until Candlemas on 2nd Feb with the figures of the Kings offering their gifts to the Christ Child but it would mean two trips up to the loft and the thought of that is too off-putting when we are tired. The day started windy and wet but by afternoon was bright, sunny and mild. The birds were not at all interested in the clean feeders I had put out. They would much rather have stinky dirty mouldy ones I think! R and I went to the Epiphany Eucharist this evening where incense was burnt to commemorate the frankincense given to the boy Jesus.
Wed 8th Jan: Our last remaining goldfish died today at the grand old age of ten.
Fri 10th Jan: A frosty night and a calm sunny day. Shopped in the morning and then spent the afternoon preparing fruit for the freezer. I have no time and no inclination for preserve making at the moment so I’ve put all in the freezer for later – much later, I am sure, knowing me! Youngest daughter went for a walk down the lane and was chased by a small dog. Why won’t people keep their dogs under control? E also had to leap into the hedge to avoid an HGV which thundered down the lane then up again. HGVs, some with trailers, have become such a menace in recent years. They are as wide, if not wider, than the lanes: they break the banks and verges down and cause terrible damage. The mud from the sides is spread across the road by their wheels making it dangerous and messy to walk and drive along. Everyone living in the country has filthy cars at the moment – it isn’t worthwhile spending time cleaning the mud off when we know that within minutes of setting off our cars will be muddy again. Farm traffic is enormous too and also causes mess and damage.
Sat 11th Jan: It is our turn this month to clean our church so R and I spent a couple of hours this afternoon doing our duty. Our church is a lovely place and nearly a thousand years old. However it is in such a bad state of repair and we have no money to do any work on it. It is damp and has woodworm – the roof leaks and the windows need repairing. It is so cold in the church in the winter despite some electric under-pew heaters. Condensation and penetrating water drip on one during services. Bats live in the church and cause so much damage but they have nowhere else to go as all the old barns have been done up and converted into modern residences.
Sun 12th Jan: A frosty morning. Drove to St James church for the Eucharist service this morning. Very cold but enjoyable service. Home for lunch then out again to our church, Rumburgh, for the Plough Blessing service. This takes place on the first Sunday after Epiphany. A local farming family has a lovely old plough which they bring to the church and decorate with ribbons. This is blessed during a short service which is thought to ensure food for the coming year. The following day, Plough Monday, traditionally is the first day when work on the fields is recommenced after Christmas. I will include a picture of the plough in my next blog. Made apple cake when I got home. A delicious Mary Berry recipe. R and I had a small slice each and E had the rest over the next 24 hours!