SEEDS were sown and tradition carried forward in West Devon last week, with the hope that 2008 will be kinder on farmers than the last year. Members of St Petroc's church, Inwardleigh, braved wind and rain to celebrate their annual 'Plough Sunday' service. The Rector of Inwardleigh, The Rev Stephen Cook, said: 'This tradition dates back to the time when the horse-drawn plough would sometimes be kept in the church and would be sent out for the year's work after a blessing. 'The young men of the village would often take it from house to house, demanding money for beer and threatening to plough up the doorstep of any house that was mean enough to refuse! 'In modern times, the blessing of the plough is a way of asking God's blessing on the work of the farms in the coming year, and of recognising our dependence on the soil.' Mr Cook said Inwardleigh was a farming community which celebrated all four of the agricultural services, marking the passing of the seasons and recognising that for all the hard work of farmers, people were ultimately dependent on God's provision. '2007 was a miserable year for the agricultural industry and we hope and pray that 2008 will be much better,' he said. This year saw the plough carried out and a specially prepared piece of ground in the churchyard was sown with seeds. The congregation at st Petroc's hope that the little crop from the land can feature in the 'Lammas' and Harvest services later in the year. Mr Cook added: 'Wind and driving rain meant that this part of the ceremony was nearly called off, but the congregation were determined to see it through and took it in turns to till the soil and scatter seeds.' The next service of this kind will be 'Rogation' — the blessing of the growing crop and will be held at a nearby farm on Sunday May 18.
