Churches in Oving and Quainton joined together earlier this month to mark Lammas, an ancient agricultural festival celebrating harvest.
One of the oldest traditional agricultural festivals, Lammas, or "loaf-mass", is marked at the start of August and celebrates the first grain harvest of the season. The festival has Biblical roots in the command to the Israelites to bring a new grain offering to the Lord, specifically "two loaves of bread" made from one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, baked as first fruits to the Lord (Leviticus 23:16–17).
To mark this ancient festival, the churches of Oving and Quainton in Claydon Deanery joined together for a special service on the first Sunday in August in a barn on one of the local farms.
Another local farmer donated milling wheat from the 2026 harvest, which was ground into flour by the team at Quainton Windmill - the oldest and tallest working windmill in Buckinghamshire - and then baked into two loaves. These two loaves were brought forward during the service and, along with other items representing our first fruits, the best of our lives, offered to God. The loaves were used as the bread for Holy Communion.
All the farmers in the two parishes were prayed for by name, and the challenges of this season were acknowledged in prayer.
The service, well supported by the local farming community, was followed by a bring-and-share lunch in the glorious sunshine while admiring the view from the hilltop position of the farm.
What could rural mission look like where you are?
Celebrating Lammas is one way rural churches can draw on the rhythms and traditions of their communities to connect faith with everyday life. If it has sparked ideas about what mission and ministry could look like where you are, your Parish Development Adviser (PDA) can help you explore them.
PDAs work alongside clergy, PCCs and ministry teams, offering practical support, encouragement and space to reflect on what God might be doing in your community. They also bring specialist expertise in areas including rural church, new housing developments and education.
Whether you want to build on something already flourishing, try something new or think through a challenge, contact your PDA to start a conversation.