• The church and community responded in various ways. Many parishes organised prayer vigils, and circulated prayer cards and letters. Telephone contacts etc. became hugely important. All farmers with confirmed cases of foot & mouth were written to and representation was made to MAFF and others as issues of concern became apparent.
• The Marches Stress Network (in Herefordshire/Shropshire) had a tenfold increase in calls, but the number of volunteers also doubled in the same period. (In Wiltshire this work has been done by the local Farm Crisis Network Group). Generous donations were made by church people to the network and the ARC- Addington Fund.

Themes for reflection (with some ideas for texts)

• The inter-relatedness of the rural economies and rural conununities has been evident - especially the links between farming and the state of the countryside, tourism etc. Many members of the rural (and urban) communities offered help and support to farmers, but there are also tensions that developed (and are developing) as decisions have to be made about re-opening footpaths, village halls etc. [Themes include koinonia; Cain and Abel, "Am 1 my brothers keeper? "; Deut 22:1-4, 2 Co 9:6-end].
• The globalisation of agriculture - foot and mouth was a crisis because of the value of the export market for agricultural products. The Common Agricultural Policy, the GS summit and the World Trade Organisation talks all have far-reaching impacts on our lives. What is a Christian perspective on the world of work? [Deut 8:7-14, 17-19; Matt 6:19-241. However, the global community has also showed care and support - over 1700 letters and cards have been received from American farming families supporting UK farmers, churches in Developing Countries have held prayer vigils, etc.
• The integrity of creation and the way we use or abuse it - an overwhelming image of the crisis was of burning animals and the slaughter of healthy stock on suspicion. [Genesis 1: 1-3, 24-31, Psalm 104, Psalm 147:7-9; Job 41:1-10 and 33-34; Deut 22:6-71.
• The brokenness and self emptying of those affected, and the role of the church in offering support, offered often through our own helplessness. Many clergy have commented that the pastoral role they exercised was only possible because so many of the other day-to-day events that fill busy lives were prevented from happening. [Philippians 2; 2 Cor 9:6ff].
• Hope for the future? Various Old Testament motifs where God promises new opportunities and visions of what the land might be [Isaiah 1 1: 6-9; Micah 4: 1 -5; Joel 1: 15-1 8 - leading to 2:21-24; Ezek 34:25-281. Included within all these are the themes of repentance and forgiveness.
• Theologically, the Eucharist reminds us of the importance of food in the well-being of society (one of the most significant events in the Christian life is a meal) and it revolves around offering thanks (Eucharist = “Thanksgiving”). The Eucharist itself, therefore, ought be an appropriate theme around which some of these issues could be raised.

Prior to the service

Consider getting a famer/vet etc., to write an article for the parish magazine in advance of the service to put it into context, and to get the personal opinion of someone affected by it. Use the children from the local school to prepare material - what was it like for them and what did they think was happening. In particular draw the contrast between the situation for a farmer's children and the others.