Ideas for a Great Big Pumpkin Party in aid of Pumpkins Against Poverty

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1 Ideas for a Great Big Pumpkin Party in aid of Pumpkins Against Poverty This is a fun way to bring people of all ages together in your church and wider community for a wonderful evening of fundraising, games and entertainment, while offering a positive alternative to Trick-or-treating and Halloween parties. Date: Saturday 31 October or any date before 31 December that works best for your church family. Venue: Church hall, community centre, barn, or living room depending on numbers and the space you need for games and activities. Refreshments: Ask people to download Rosemary Shrager s favourite pumpkin recipes at practicalaction.org/fundraise and then agree who will bring pumpkin pie, soup or cupcakes (along with other food) to give everyone a healthy, nutritious meal at your party. Tickets: Sell tickets for the event to help you keep track of numbers and to raise additional funds for Pumpkins Against Poverty. Don t forget to tell everyone the UK Government has pledged to match fund every pound that s given. This will enable Practical Action to help many more of the poorest people in northwest Bangladesh to grow pumpkins to feed their families and build a sustainable future in areas hit by regular flooding and land erosion. Pumpkin Party Decorations: Have fun making the hall or room for your Great Big Pumpkin Party feel bright and festive with lots of pumpkin lanterns with smiley, friendly faces taking pride of place. Please contact Stacey McNeil if you would like us to send leaflets and information about Practical Action that you can display and hand out to people attending your party. Retiring Collection: Place buckets near the Exit to collect any loose change as people leave the party. Bright and Light Party: If you re planning a Bright and Light party or similar, why not show off the mighty pumpkin in a new light and enjoy supporting people in Bangladesh with pumpkin soup, games and a quiz. Don t forget to charge an entrance fee and collect small change in buckets as people leave. Fun Ideas for Great Big Pumpkin Party Games: Pumpkin Bowling: This idea is sure to be a winner for people of all ages. After setting up a pumpkin bowling alley, prepare different sized pumpkins to cater for a variety of ages and bowling skills by drilling three holes in the side of the pumpkin to make it like a Ten-pin bowling ball! If you don t have skittles to hand, try using a stack of decorated toilet rolls to knock over with your pumpkins. Charge 1 for 5 goes. Remind your Pumpkin Partygoers that every 1 they donate on the night will be matched pound for pound by the UK Government. Pass the Pumpkin: For young children, why not try a version of Pass the Parcel using a pumpkin instead? Every time the music stops, the child holding the pumpkin can stick their hand inside and pull out a treat! The last child holding the pumpkin gets to keep it along with a special treat. Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin: Invite people to give 1 to guess the weight of the largest pumpkin you can find. Give the pumpkin as a prize to the person whose guess is closest to the weight. Decorate the Pumpkin: Set up a corner for people to decorate and turn their pumpkins into collecting boxes. Encourage people to put their small change in the pumpkin they feel has the friendliest, funniest face. Offer a prize to the pumpkin that raises the most money for Pumpkins Against Poverty. Pumpkin Pie Bake Off Competition: Invite the children to bring their own Pumpkin Pie and enter it into the Pumpkin Bake Off Competition. Ask your church leaders and a culinary expert who knows a thing or two about baking to judge the entries. Quiz: Vegetable or Fruit?: Download our quiz at practicalaction.org/fundraise and see how many people think a pumpkin is a vegetable and not a fruit!

2 QUIZ: Vegetable or Fruit? See who knows their onions when it comes to deciding if a pumpkin is a vegetable or fruit! While most might know a tomato is a fruit, they may be surprised to know a watermelon is classed as both a fruit and a vegetable. This quiz is perfect to include in a Great Big Pumpkin Party or a Bright and Light Alternative Halloween event. Alternatively, you could shorten it for a Family Service or simplify it for a Sunday school group. Make it visual by showing each of the vegetables and pieces of fruit either on a screen or in real life. Once you ve found out who s won, you may need to enlighten people that the easiest way to decide which is a fruit and which is a vegetable is that fruit has seeds! 1. Peas in a pod 2. Tomato 3. Rhubarb 4. Watermelon 5. Butternut Squash 6. Olive 7. Mushroom 8. Okra 9. Potato 10. Pepper 11. Cucumber 12. Courgette 13. Avocado 14. Lettuce 15. Coconut 16. Cauliflower 17. Beetroot 18. Celery 19. Aubergine 20. Pumpkin Answers: 1. Fruit, 2. Fruit, 3. Vegetable, 4. Other, 5. Fruit, 6. Fruit, 7. Other, 8. Fruit, 9. Vegetable, 10. Fruit, 11. Fruit, 12. Fruit, 13. Fruit, 14. Vegetable, 15. Other, 16. Vegetable, 17. Vegetable, 18. Vegetable, 19. Fruit, 20. Fruit.

3 Fascinating Facts about Pumpkins! Pumpkins are incredible! A small portion of pumpkin can reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and the risk of a stroke Rich in Vitamin A, it boosts the immune system. Improves skin. Maintains healthy eyes. Every part of a pumpkin is edible including the flesh, seeds and blossom. Pumpkins will grow almost anywhere in the world. They are grown on every continent except Antarctica. Depending on the variety, it takes between 85 and 125 days to grow a pumpkin. Roasted pumpkin seeds provide a delicious, nutritious snack. Pumpkins can be stored for over a year. For the poorest people living in northwest Bangladesh, pumpkins provide a constant source of nutrition and income that protects them through the lean season and flood emergencies. Eating a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds three hours before bed can help you sleep!

4 Sandbar Cropping with Practical Action Once the rainy season ends in northwest Bangladesh and the swollen monsoon waters finally drain away, the land shifts on the margins of the rivers to create sandbars. Before Practical Action started working in this area, these sandbars had not been used because they were thought to be barren and unproductive. Practical Action has proved it is both possible and profitable to grow pumpkins in small compost pits dug into the sandbars. The season for pumpkin growing normally starts around October to November. The sandbars can be farmed for five months each year without harming the environment. Pumpkins are a perfect crop because they are extremely nutritious, can be stored for over a year and fetch a good price at market. This project is aimed at helping over 30,000 extremely poor people living on flood embankments in Bangladesh to help themselves out of poverty and build long-term, sustainable futures for their families. Once we ve worked with the farmers to find a suitable site for the compost pits, the hard work can begin. A pit is dug into the sand bar, one metre deep and one metre in diameter. After a few days, four to six seeds are placed into the sack The compost pits are carefully monitored over the next five months. One jute sack filled with compost is placed in the hole. In some areas, farmers are able to use compost generated from the previous year s crop, making the programme sustainable. At harvest time, farmers should be able to reap up to ten gourds or pumpkins from each pit.

5 Ideas for an All Saints Day or Family Service 1 of 2 We are pleased to offer ideas that we would like you to use or adapt for a church service on All Saints Day, Sunday 1 November As the UK Government has pledged to match pound for pound every donation given to Practical Action s Pumpkins Against Poverty appeal until 31 December, please feel welcome to choose another Sunday before the end of the year when your church can focus on praying and giving hope and practical help to some of the poorest people in northwest Bangladesh. Our aim is to help another 30,000 extremely vulnerable people in Bangladesh who are at risk of losing their homes and livelihoods in the wake of devastating flooding and monsoon rains that regularly affect this region. A gift of 400 from your church would be doubled by the UK Government to make it worth 800. This could provide 20 families with fertiliser, machinery, irrigation, pesticide and a guard shed to grow pumpkins, which would enable them to feed their families, generate regular income and become selfsupporting. Thank you for asking your congregation to support this amazing, life-changing project in Bangladesh this autumn. Service Outline Welcome and Introduction A very warm welcome to our service celebrating All Saints Day. As well as thanking God as we remember the lives of the Saints that have gone before us, we will be thinking about what it means for each of us to be a Saint today. To help us, we will be looking at how we can support the charity, Practical Action, and their extraordinary Sandbar Cropping project that is helping thousands of poor people in Bangladesh to grow pumpkins and become self-sufficient. Opening Verse Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrew 12: 1-2 Opening Prayer Almighty God, we thank you we are surrounded by so many Saints in heaven and on earth. May we be inspired and strengthened by their example. Help us to persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may be one with all the Saints in heaven, through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the power of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Hymn For all the Saints, who from their labours rest Words: William W. How Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams Confession (Invite the congregation to say these words together) Loving God, we are sorry for the times we have hidden the light of your love in our lives. For the times we have said unkind words, held on to selfish thoughts and behaved in ways that were not loving or caring. Forgive us and help us to make a fresh start with you today. Song Suggestions Here I am to Worship Tim Hughes Love Songs from Heaven Noel & Tricia Richards Light of the World Matt Redman

6 Ideas for an All Saints Day or Family Service Continued 2 of 2 Bible Readings Old Testament Reading: Psalm 149: 1-5 New Testament Reading: Matthew 5: Children s Song Suggestions This Little Light of Mine Stephen M. Lee Let your Light Shine Andy Wallis Children s Talk (see separate download) Song/Hymn Shine Jesus Shine Graham Kendrick Prayers Heavenly Father, we pray for the people of Bangladesh living in areas affected by flooding and climate change. May they know your peace in the midst of storms and monsoon rains. May your grace give them hope when in despair. May you hold them above the floods and protect their homes and livelihoods. We thank you for the opportunity we have today to support these suffering people in their struggles and give them hope and a secure future. We bless you God of seed and harvest And we bless each other That the beauty of this world And the love that created it Might be expressed through our lives And be a blessing to others Now and always. John Birch, faithandworship.com Dear Lord, give us the simplicity and faith of all your saints, that loving you above all things, we may become what you call us to be and do what you call us to do, so that we may be numbered with all your saints in glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Closing Hymn Be Thou my Vision David Clifton, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, Mary Elizabeth Byrne Blessing (words taken from Colossians 1) May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon us this day and all our days. Further Hymns and Songs suggestions To God be the Glory Fanny Crosby, William Doane Holy and Anointed One John Barrett I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say Horatius Bonar We are Marching in the Light of God Anders Nyberg, Andrew Maries Kindle a Flame, to Lighten the Dark Iona Community May the Mind of Christ my Saviour Kate Wilkinson O thou who camest from above Charles Wesley Ye Watchers and ye Holy Ones Athelstan Riley Be Still for the Presence of the Lord David Evans

7 Children s Talk 1 of 2 Aim: Using a pumpkin, illustrate how God has placed his seeds (i.e. his gifts and talents) in our hearts. When we are willing to share our gifts and talents to benefit others we make room for the light of God s love to shine out of our hearts and into the world. Reading: Matthew 5: Props for Illustrated Talk: Two large pumpkins for the Tale of Two Pumpkins, table, tablecloth that covers the table to the floor, candle, box of matches and a large glass bowl. Download images of the maps of Bangladesh and photos of Anwar and pumpkins growing on sandbars from practicalaction.org/fundraise to show on a screen. Print out copies to show the children if a screen is not available. Preparation: Cut the tops off both pumpkins. Leave all the seeds and gunk in one, but clean out the seeds in the other. If you have time, roast the seeds (or buy pumpkin seeds) and place them in a plastic bag inside the cleaned out pumpkin. Cut a large heart shape in the side of the pumpkin that will be ready for a child to push out). Introduction Today we are thinking about Saints. Ask the children, What makes a Saint? Can they think of any names of Saints either from the past or the present? Why do they think they are called Saints? Examples could include Mother Theresa, someone they know personally or the Patron Saint of your church. Explain that Saints are people throughout history from Bible times until today who try to follow Jesus and do the things that Jesus teaches us to do. They are people just like us who let the love of God shine in their lives. They don t make a big song and dance about being good, like the Pharisees we read about in Jesus time, but they quietly go about doing good and shining God s light in dark places. Section 1 Look at the Bible passage in Matthew 5: Point out Jesus that says, You are the light of the world. God has given each of us a responsibility to be the light of the world (in sharp contrast to the darkness of Halloween). Jesus wants to see his love being revealed and not concealed by us in this world. Section 2 The Tale of Two Pumpkins Tell the children you are going to illustrate Jesus words in the Tale of Two Pumpkins. Place two large pumpkins on a table with a tablecloth covering it. Ask one of the children to lift the top off the pumpkin on the left of the table. Ask them what they see inside (all the seeds and gunk are still in there). Then place a night light candle in the top and ask them to light it. Put the lid back on and then ask them to place it under the table behind the tablecloth so no one can see it. Then ask another child to help you lift the top off the pumpkin left on the table. Ask them to take out the seeds (which have been cleaned and roasted and placed in a plastic bag in readiness to hand out to everyone in the congregation). Ask them to push out the heart shape that has been carved in the side of the pumpkin. Then place the round church candle in the pumpkin. Light it, put the top back on and let it shine for all to see. Explain to the children that we are like pumpkins. God has given us seeds our talents and gifts that he wants us to share and give away. And the more we give away, the more we make room for his light to shine in our hearts. At this point, bring the first pumpkin out. Ask one of the children to lift the lid to show that the light has gone out. The seeds and all the gunk are still there.

8 Children s Talk 2 of 2 And if no one does anything with them, they will go bad and not be good for anything. In contrast, the light is still shining in the other pumpkin. The seeds have been shared out and enjoyed by everyone in the congregation. Explain that the more we give in this life, the more room there is for God s light to shine in our hearts. Section 3 Mother Theresa once said, You can do something I cannot do. I can do something you cannot do. Together let us do something beautiful for God. This morning we all have an opportunity to let God s light shine in us and to do something beautiful for God. And the exciting news is that it s all about what we can help the charity, Practical Action do with pumpkins in Bangladesh! Briefly explain how pumpkins are amazing (refer to the Fascinating Facts about Pumpkins in the downloads at practicalaction.org/fundraise). Then tell the children about Anwar (show the photo of Anwar and his family on the screen). Mention that he lives in northwest Bangladesh (show the map). Explain how Anwar used to help a man repair bicycles. He was paid less that 2 a day to feed and look after his family. Then show a photo of the river and the monsoon rain. Explain that every year the monsoon rains come between June and October and many families like Anwar s lose their homes on the river embankments when the floodwaters rise. But after the monsoon rains drain away, sandbars appear in the rivers. Explain that Practical Action has discovered how it is possible to grow pumpkins on these sandbars for 5 months of the year. Last year, Anwar was able to grow 600 pumpkins. He sold 450 and kept 100 to feed his family. He then used the money to buy a cow and chickens, which means he can now afford to give his children an education. He s also passing on his knowledge to others like him. In other words, he is sharing the good things he has learned he is shining a light to others and passing on the hope and help that he has received. Conclusion Jesus says, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. We ve seen this morning that bringing light into the world starts with us. And it can start with just small, practical actions. Thinking of others before yourself. Sharing what you have. Opening up your heart to God and allowing his light to shine through. Explain how we can start to do this today by giving a gift to Practical Action. And the great news is that every gift we give from today until 31st December 2015 will be doubled by the UK Government, which will help even more families like Anwar s to begin growing pumpkins and make a fresh start after their homes and livelihoods have been washed away by the floods.