PHOTO COURTESY OF CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR
God’s bounty placed on the altar at Church of Our Savior.
A full month before America’s Thanksgiving holiday, the Caribbean people celebrate a special day of their own: the Harvest Festival.
At the time of year when all the crops have been harvested, Caribbean people celebrate the Harvest Festival. This event is a thanksgiving celebration of the food grown on the land.
The Harvest Festival is indeed a festive one with singing, praying, and decorating of churches with baskets of fruit and food. The celebration of the harvest season and the blessing of a bountiful crop usually take place in early October. Two parishes in Palm Bay also celebrate the harvest on Sundays in October.
For 55 years, Church of Our Savior in Palm Bay has celebrated The Harvest Festival. This year’s Harvest Festival will be Sunday, October 28.
Parishioners bring in their harvest of baked goods and homegrown produce that are placed on the altar and blessed. After the service, there is a feast, and the harvest is sold to other members of the parish.
“At least 200 people take part in this each year,” explains Sarah Owens, parish secretary at Church of Our Savior. “It is one of the highlights of the year!”
The parish combines the Harvest Festival with The Festival of Flags since Church of Our Savior is a multi-ethnic church. “Twenty-nine different countries are represented in our congregation,” Owens said. “A parishioner from each nation represented carries that nation’s flag during the entrance procession. It’s an amazing sight.”
Church of Our Savior is located at 1000 Jersey Lane Northeast, Palm Bay, FL 32905. For more information, call 321-723-8032.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE REV. BRIAN TURNER
Hungry parishioners at Church of the Blessed Redeemer buy offerings from the Harvest Festival.
Church of the Blessed Redeemer also celebrates The Harvest Festival. The Mission of the Episcopal Church serves the Caribbean community of Palm Bay as 95 percent of the members are from Jamaica, Trinidad, the Cayman Islands, Barbados, and Haiti.
Every year the church has a Harvest Festival, celebrating the Caribbean Thanksgiving. “Our members bring in various fruits and vegetables that are native to the Caribbean, from breadfruit, cherimoya, and ugli fruit to sugarcane,” said the Rev. Brian Turner, rector of Church of the Blessed Redeemer. “They also bring in all kinds of baked goods. We bless them and give thanks to God for the earth’s bounty.”
Because of last year’s hurricane in September, the 2017 harvest wasn’t as bountiful. “We are hopeful for the 2018 harvest!” Turner said. “We sell these items as our main outreach fundraiser of the year, with a portion of the funds raised going toward the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund.”
The Harvest Festival is a much-anticipated event. “People in this parish look forward to it all year. They are so proud of what they grow, and they’re so eager to share it with the parish,” Turner said.
This year’s Harvest Festival will be Sunday, October 28. For more information, call the church at 321-725-6881.