<div><div>We will be collecting food for Arnold Foodbank in the porch for the service and the following week. The food bank are currently low on the following items therefore if you would like to contribute these may be useful starting points.</div>Tinned veg (e.g. sweetcorn, carrots)<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Tinned fruit</span><div>Tinned meat and fish </div><div>Powdered potato (e.g. smash)</div><div>UHT juice or milk </div><div>Squash</div><div>Jams & condiments</div><div>Small coffee jars </div><div>Sugar </div><div>Personal care e.g. shampoo, disposable razors, deodorant </div><div>Chocolate treats & snacks </div><div>Rice pudding </div><div>Custard </div></div><div><div>Thanks in advance. We hope to see as many people as possible at our family harvest service.</div></div>
We are pleased to announce that we are this months edition of Southwell Leaves magazine! We submitted an entry on how the church has adapted during the pandemic, with inclusion of pictures from the Advent Windows campaign and the Easter daffodil cross. You can see more about it from https://www.southwellminster.org/about-us/minster-magazine/ (page 20)! Well done to churchwarden Gill Bignall on sharing our news and activities.
It has been a busy June at St Mary’s Church in Car Colston, Nottinghamshire where we have been celebrating our churchyard and ‘Caring for Creation’.What started as a relatively small project to build a bug hotel in the churchyard developed into the construction of a beautiful Bug Church and Hedgehog Annex.The project was a wonderful opportunity to engage withthe wider community who enthusiastically donated all the necessary components for the Bug Church and a local artist painted the intricate clock face for the tower. Children from a nearby nursery school visited and helped with the provision of the habitat for the bugs and hedgehogs.Our work coincided with the Churches Count on Nature, and we decided to hold a Wild Churchyard event to celebrate the Bug Church and also promote the biodiversity of the churchyard. We wanted to offer something that would be of interest to all the community and particularly appeal to young families, that was environmentally friendly and also educational.The Wild Churchyard morning on Saturday 12th June involved approximately 30 people visiting the churchyard and enjoying refreshments of tea, coffee, bacon rolls and homemade blueberry muffins. Children took part in QR code nature trails around the churchyard identifying wildflowers, drawing colourful pictures of wildlife to decorate the church porch and enthusiastically inspecting the Bug Church. The rural setting of the Church traversed by footpaths is much appreciated and well used. Wildflower areas have been planted to encourage pollination for local bees and a seating area is available for those who wish to the enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the setting for quiet reflection.A Pets Service held the following week led by Reverend Ruth Colby incorporated a blessing for the Bug Church. In addition to the many local families and dogs who attended and to whom the churchyard is familiar territory we were delighted to welcome a tortoise and a chicken. We also included special activities for children to join in with during and after the service.The construction of a Bug Church with a tower and clock face to replicate that of St Mary's coupled with the Hedgehog Annex has been a tremendous achievement. The work which is ongoing has all been done by volunteers in the community assisted by enthusiastic children from the village and beyond. Visitors to the area have been in touch to express their delight and appreciation for what has been achieved in the churchyard. This feedback is much appreciated and very rewarding for all the hard work of those involved.
