Thank you to everyone who came and made the weekend the great community celebration it was. And thank you to all those who planned, painted, sewed, cooked, baked, carried, served and helped in any way – we couldn’t have done it without you.
The weekend was about our parish opening its doors to the wider community and sharing our wealth of talent and enthusiasm. But it was also an opportunity to raise much-needed funds for the work of CAFOD’s new initiative connect2 and Carmel Care Centre. Over £600 will be divided between these 2 causes.
‘A Patchwork of Artistic Delights and Fun’
This year’s Pentecost weekend at Sacred Heart saw a joyous celebration of talent, skill, community and spiritual life. Visitors came from far and near, despite the heavens opening many times! Hot soup and cups of tea were very welcome!
The Hall was the lively hub of the weekend. In one corner there was a huge display of fabric arts and crafts, with the chance to watch spinning and knitting on GIANT! needles. The colours and textures of patchwork and embroidery were amazing.
Another corner had the art display of original work by the Sacred Heart Art Class and other artists. A very special display comprised paintings by Sylvia Marsden, a founding and inspiring member of the Sacred Heart Group, who sadly passed away at the end of April.
Next to the “finished art”, there was the young people’s activity corner: face-painting with sometimes 3 painters working at the same time to keep up with demand; the “Paint a Butterfly” competition – won by a 2 year old in the youngest category; having a go at Origami, Paper-cutting and HAMA kept youngsters and some not-so-youngsters happy for hours.
Thanks to the generosity of Béres Pork Shops, refreshments included delicious ham sandwiches, pork and fruit pies, in addition to the afore-mentioned soup! The home-bakers were out in force and the range of sweet delights was awesome.
As if all of this were not enough, the Hall also contained: Peter showing the skill and precision needed to make marquetry pictures; stalls selling hand-made jewellery and cards and wood turned items [the buttons sold out the first day!] and a very popular Instant Raffle.
Across the playground, the Shalom Room provided a serene space to show the work of Sacred Heart School children, using a variety of techniques including printing and collage.
Entering the Church, your senses were immediately uplifted by the scent of lilies and other flowers in the “rainbow” of arrangements lining the front of the church to celebrate the feast of the Coming of the Holy Spirit: Red in front of St. Teresa; Orange in St Joseph’s Chapel, where prayers could be planted – and many were; Yellow before the lectern; Green before the altar; Blue for Our Lady; and finally, Indigo and Violet by the Sacristy. Thoughtful and moving reflections on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit accompanied the rainbow of flowers.
The walls of the church were lined with paintings by the Sacred Heart Art Class and “doves” decorated by this year’s Confirmation group. Throughout the 2 days, organ or keyboard music by Brian, Francesca and Mark provided an appropriate accompaniment to spiritual reflection.
A number of people took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the church and banners with a guided tour by Sylvia.
Through Connect2, Sacred Heart parish will be connecting to a village called Musha in eastern Rwanda . We will be helping a community where people are still rebuilding their lives after the trauma of the 1994 genocide.
Carmel Care Centre in Hillsborough provides help and support for vulnerable adults in the community with opportunities for social interaction and stimulating activity.