On 24 October 2025, Churches Together in Carlisle & District (CTiC&D) held a successful city Harvest Festival at the Borderway Auction Mart.
This was a first for the city and the mart, and it turned out to be a hugely uplifting time of worship attended by people from across the area. As the current Chair of CTiC&D, I opened the service and then prayers and readings were led by Rev Angela Whittaker, Rev Simon Bickersteth, Diana Raven and Captain Stephen Scoulding. The address based on Genesis 1:20-31 was given by the Superintendent Minister of the Cumbria Methodist Circuit, Rev David Newlove, who is also an Agricultural Chaplain at the Mart.
The theme of the service was to give thanks to God for creation and also to recognise the contributions which farmers around Cumbria make to people in the city and along with praying for the challenges they face. For this unique service, Harrison & Hetherington which operate the Borderway Mart, allowed the event to take place in one of the auction rings. It turned out that the acoustics which allow people to hear the auctioneers above the sounds of sheep and cattle, also work beautifully for hymn singing! Canon Pete Gunstone from Carlisle Cathedral led the congregation in a mix of traditional hymns including, of course, We Plough the Fields and Scatter, and some newer songs from the Iona Community.
A retiring collection was taken for the Borderway Mart’s nominated charities which include RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution). RABI Trustee Simon Thorp attended the service and spoke about the work of the charity supporting the wellbeing of farmers.
As this was a new service, it took a lot of hard work by a small team to organise. We were very grateful to everyone who came along, took part and spread the word as well as to Harrison & Hetherington for providing such an appropriate venue. Between us all, those represented included the Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, United Reformed, Salvationist and Church of Scotland traditions, and it was wonderful witness to the fact that we can worship in unity while celebrating our diversity. Some people have already asked for more services, so we hope to repeat this next year!
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Main photo credit: S Bickersteth