The Farming Community Network (FCN), will mark its 30th anniversary with a traditional Harvest Festival Service at Sherborne Abbey, at 6.30pm on Sunday 28th September. The FCN is inviting the whole community to come and celebrate rural life, farming and the spirit of community.
Organiser Bec Hill says the service will be a joyful, inclusive event: ’The Abbey choir will be performing and the hymns will be ones that everyone knows! Local young farmers are decorating the porch, and we’ve got old tractors arriving on the night … it’ll be a proper celebration of what Dorset does best.
‘It’s not only about looking back at 30 years of FCN’s work, but also about bringing our community together to give thanks and look forward. We’re proud to be hosting this event in Dorset – we’re a county with deep agricultural roots and a strong spirit of support.’
Tea, coffee and cake will be served after the service, and Bec would love an idea of numbers: ‘The Abbey holds up to 1,000 people – I really don’t want to be left with 1,000 cakes!’
A hamper raffle full of local produce – supported by 20 generous businesses – will be drawn on the night, with tickets on sale at the Dorset County Show, and the Cultivation Day on 24th September.
While the event is a celebration of the harvest, Bec notes the challenging backdrop to this year’s season: ‘Livestock farmers are already feeding their winter forage. Arable returns are tight. The figures just aren’t stacking up. FCN volunteers understand these pressures – we’re all farmers ourselves.’
The FCN is a UK-wide charity supporting farmers and farming families through times of difficulty and change. FCN Dorset has quietly grown a strong network in the county, offering support through farm walks, breakfast meetings and “walk and talk” pub meet-ups. ‘It’s about showing up for each other,’ says Bec. ‘It might be a single phone call, or it might be a two-year journey. But we’re here.’
6.30pm, 28th September, Sherborne Abbey.
To attend the Harvest Festival, or to find out more about FCN Dorset, email Bec on
[email protected]
