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Here’s What You Can Expect at Harvest of Hope™

The Society of St. Andrew’s ecumenical study, worship, and mission retreat program is designed to educate participants concerning the domestic and global hunger problem and encourage them to make commitments to being part of the solution.

Below is a comprehensive summary of what you can expect at your upcoming Harvest of Hope event! This guide answers many frequently asked questions and provides a surface-level introduction to the event structure.

The Experience

Gleaning: Participants at Harvest of Hope get their hands dirty daily as they head out to the fields to glean and rescue food. After a sustaining breakfast, participants glean through the morning and then help load (or deliver) the freshly picked produce to local hunger relief groups and community efforts.

Often, participants will meet representatives of these local hunger relief agencies when the food is picked up or delivered. This gives participants a “full-circle” opportunity to see exactly how the fruits of their labors will be used.

Study: Participants learn about domestic and global hunger. Through a variety of educational tools, coupled with the physical labor of gleaning, they begin to see that one person really can make a difference.

Leaders are provided with a curriculum and study questions to focus the conversation and provide ample opportunity to answer pertinent questions. Many leaders also appreciate breaking into a smaller group of 3-5 participants to facilitate discussion.

Worship: Nondenominational worship helps focus the relationship between faith and service to the poor. Participants from many different faith traditions join together in worship, showing our love by our unity.

This is not a required portion of any Harvest of Hope trip. However, being a faith-based project, most religious and faith-based groups request this opportunity to break up their time spent volunteering and learning.

Meals: Good nutritious meals provide an introduction to a simple, healthy lifestyle. As part of a healthy lifestyle participants also covenant to abstain from junk food and soda for the entire event.

Commitment: Harvest of Hope is just the beginning! Participants are encouraged to take what they experience back home with them so they might impact their families, communities, and churches. Harvest of Hope challenges people of faith to respond to the call of the gospel to feed the poor, and to make service a lifestyle, rather than a once-a-year event.

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