Well, we made it! God certainly had a hand in getting this event ready on time. With illness, injuries and other commitments our usual team was very depleted.
However offers of help arrived just in time, particularly with bringing the trees into church. We are so grateful to Mark Woods for his help with this.
Then there was the extra help received from others who appeared each day during preparation week, especially on the Friday. To everyone – Thank you.
The first weekend approached with weather forecasts warning that the effects of Storm Darragh would be felt all over the country.
We did wonder if we would have any visitors at all on the first day! However our area did not experience the full force of the storm and many people braved the strong winds and grey, gloomy skies.
The church was never empty of visitors from 11.15 to 4.45 on that day. The bright colours and the twinkling lights, along with the peaceful atmosphere inside the building, provided a strong contrast to the stark conditions outside.
The second weekend was very different the weather was ideal We certainly had a good number of visitors all the time.
This number was increased by the people who came to the Hood Lane Lantern Trail. They all came into the church where carols were sang and many looked at the trees.
During the next week we have the children from the ARC School Ansley with their parents and carers for their end of term concert.
The bus brought the children from Nursery Hill and parents came to see their Nativity on their last day of term. The church was full for this event.
The Christmas Cake that was raffled was won by a delighted Carole Harvey.
Our traditional Nine Lessons and Carols service brought the 19th Christmas Tree Festival to a fitting end.
Comments from two of our church members
:
“I had the great honour of being part of the Christmas Tree Festival at St. Laurence’s church for the first time this year.
I have to say it was absolutely spectacular, I was overwhelmed how beautiful the church looked and how much effort was put into making it look so wonderful.
This event is extremely important to the community as I’ve had a couple of friends who participated with decorating their own trees.
Each tree had a symbolic meaning I felt captured the essence of love, hope and peace.
I do know from talking to people within the community about the Christmas Tree Festival, that this is an important event that brings everyone together. I can honestly say I have never seen a church looked so beautiful and I am very proud to be a part of St Laurence’s. I do hope that this continues for many more years to come.” L.C.
“It was our absolute delight and pleasure to not only visit the Christmas Tree Festival but also take part in the preparation and also dressing one of the trees.
From start to finish, it is such a wonderful community focused event with families remembering their loved ones through decorating a tree, businesses giving back to the community and local groups celebrating their year.
The Festival is never complete without the amazing knitted creations and the Clangers (Bell Ringers) Tree was definitely one of my favourites.
For me, this year, the tree where we could remember loved ones and those taken too soon was really poignant and I was glad to be able to place our friend’s granddaughter’s name on this tree and also place a prayer for the family who were grieving. It is so important to remember at Christmas time that this season isn’t always a happy time for everyone and I felt that, this year, the Festival provided a great balance of celebration, joy, remembrance and prayer. Well done St. Laurence’s on yet another triumph!” J.D.
At the end of the festival we had raised £3,020 and a donation of £755 (25%) was sent to the Mary Ann Evans Hospice, for which they were extremely grateful. A further £122.45 was given for the stars on the Remembrance Tree and has been added to the Churchyard Fund.
At a rough guess it is estimated that over 1,500 people will have come through the church door from the day the trees arrived and by the time they were taken out on the 6th January.
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE.