Christmas 2024 was a creative time at St Peter’s Clayhanger. Growing out of the very successful Christmas Tree Festival in 2023 the local community was invited to take part in the Clayhanger Creative Christmas event on 14-16 December 2024.
The idea was that people could exhibit in the church an artistic or craft creation of any kind on the theme of ‘what Christmas means to me’. The response was amazing, and the church was filled with all sorts of creations, beautiful, thought provoking, comforting, challenging, weird, wonderful, moving, and all inspirational. The age range of the artists or crafters was from 2½ to 82½. All sorts of artistic or craft mediums were explored including (but not limited to) painting, printing, poetry, sewing, metalwork, crochet, tree dressing, spectacular light arrays – all offset against the backdrop of our lovely small and truly rural medieval church building and lit, as darkness fell, by hundreds of twinkly Christmas lights. Over the weekend, visitors were able to browse the creations and to pause in the quiet as they reflected on what they were seeing.
The event then culminated with the annual Carol service and more than 60 from Clayhanger and beyond gathered to hear the timeless bible story of Jesus our Lord and to sing carols. Afterwards, refreshments were shared by everyone. We do know how to have and enjoy a party in Clayhanger!
This was a wonderful time when we truly were able to ‘make a joyful noise to the Lord’ and a wonderful expression of the creativity, openness and community spirit of the people of Clayhanger and we say thank you to everyone who so kindly and generously made it possible.
