The Methodist Relief and Development Fund launched its 2009 Harvest pack, Enriching Harvest, at the Methodist Church’s annual conference last week.

Rev David Gamble, President of Methodist Conference, and Vice-President Richard Vautrey sliced a banana-shaped cake at the Civic Centre in Wolverhampton on to mark its launch.

Enriching Harvest explores the parable of the talents and features real-life examples from MRDF’s work in India, where people are celebrating their very own first fruits by making the most of their limited resources. This includes the story of a group of Dalits who turned a piece of dry, bush land into a profitable banana plantation, despite having modest resources to start with.

Simeon Mitchell from MRDF said: "In this current economic climate, it is very tempting to focus on what we don’t have. But we have all been given a different combination of gifts such as time, a home and skills - it’s what we do with these things that really counts. This resource encourages us to think about how we can use these gifts to help others."

Rev Gamble will visit India to see the featured project later this year. He said: "I am looking forward to experiencing this transformational work first-hand, and meeting some of the people for whom Methodist churches and individuals, through MRDF, are making small miracles possible."

Enriching Harvest includes worship ideas, children and youth activities, event suggestions, recipes and posters.