Please join us this weekend for a special celebration of St Andrew’s Churchyard. Over the course of the weekend, we will be reflecting upon the importance of the churchyard as a place of rest and memorial, consecrated to God as God’s Own Acre. The churchyard is a treasure we have inherited from past generations and we wish to maintain it as a peaceful, beautiful place for our time and for generations to come. It has a long history, spanning eight centuries, and there are some important historical figures and events connected with it – be prepared for some surprises! It is also a designated City Wildlife Site, important as a natural habitat for a great variety of plants, birds, insects and small
mammals, and we will be discussing how we can promote its biodiversity and protect its wildlife.
The celebration begins with a Churchyard Work Party on the morning of Saturday 12th, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm. Information about the churchyard and some artwork created for the celebration by some of our young people will be on display. You are welcome to come for the whole morning or just drop in. Please bring gloves. We will be raking up the newly mown grass and doing some essential cutting back and so secateurs and a rake would also be helpful, if you have them to bring. It will be a sociable
time as always – but at a safe distance – and in these altered times, we unfortunately need everyone to bring their own refreshments.
On Sunday morning, our online All-age Morning Service at 10 am and Holy Communion service in church at 11 am will have ‘Celebrating the Churchyard’ as the theme. Please find on our website home page the link to join the online service or to book a seat for the church service (necessary because of current restrictions on numbers).
On Sunday evening, there will be an online Zoom discussion at 5.30 pm, with input from
three speakers: Revd Nigel Cooper – What is a churchyard for?; Canon Nick Moir – How the churchyard came to be; Maggie Fernie – How are we caring for the churchyard? Do join us for this opportunity to talk about the conservation of the churchyard’s heritage and wildlife. You can join the Zoom discussion by following this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88529804596?pwd=cHQ3Y0xDc1UrNXo0eVdvZWhMZWI2Zz09