Michaelmas Festival 2023

Harvest Mandala – donated to the Long Table

We enjoyed a lovely Michaelmas celebration together at the church on Sunday: Fruit and vegetables were gathered into a lovely display in the morning to be donated to the Long Table. After the Children’s service we gathered in St Brides Hall, which had been set out beautifully with four-some tables, café style, with hand embroidered tablecloths. We first learnt some new songs, led by Christian, including one written by Liza! We then heard a story about a dragon that needed healing to stop his anguished destruction around a village. The adults then split up, three to a table, with a space for a child to join them, after they were waiters for the lunch cooked the day before. We were tasked with chatting about what brought us to the Christian Community. Everyone’s story is so very different, and it was lovely sharing these with people we might not have talked to much before, and sharing our stories with and hearing from the children. The two vegetable soups were delicious, as were the fruit crumbles and cream for pudding. While the adults had a think and share about courage over the last year and for the future, the children did some drawings with Johannes, continuing the theme of the recovered dragon.
Just before the end of the festival we all joined together in the Chapel for a Close of Day, where we again sang the new songs we’d learnt. Splitting into groups of adults and a child for the lunch was a really lovely activity to do, and one we hope will be repeated. (MC)

As ever it was so enjoyable to meet up as a church community, to meet friends and new people, whether at lunch, or at the exercises after lunch to stimulate our faith. And it was great to sing together, how important to connect together out of the heart region! And then there was the enjoyment of eating food together, deliciously simple food, simply delicious!! The time shot by, where did it go ?! Many thanks as ever to Liza for organising this Michaelmas Festival. (CD)