02
Jan
Archbishop of York to celebrate farmers at Ripon service
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The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, will give an address at Ripon Cathedral's Plough Sunday service on Sunday, January 11.
Plough Sunday is an ancient festival traditionally held on the first Sunday after Epiphany. It celebrates farming and prays are said for a good year ahead.
The service, supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, is the first of a series of events in January to bring the farming community together.
It will culminate in the society’s first-ever Yorkshire Farming Conference at the Great Yorkshire Showground on January 28.
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev John Dobson, will lead the service and bless a ploughshare presented by the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.
A tractor provided by Ripon Farm Services will be on display outside the cathedral. Members of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Future Farmers of Yorkshire network will give readings as part of the service and representatives of farming charities will attend.
The Archbishop of York said:
At a time when farming families face many challenges, this service offers a moment to pray together, to recognise their contribution, and to mark the beginning of the sowing season with gratitude and hope.
Society chief executive Allister Nixon said:
It is a chance to celebrate what farmers deliver for us all, to take pride in the hard work that shapes the countryside, and to look forward as one, with refreshed energy and focus.
People are invited to gather at the cathedral from 2.30pm for hot pork rolls and hot drinks, before the service gets underway at 3.30pm.
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