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Tree Festival celebrates 20 years
This year is the 20th anniversary of one of Bedford's biggest Christmas
attractions, the Christmas Tree Festival at St Paul's church, run
jointly by the church and Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends.
It has become established as a firm favourite for many, who start
their Christmas by visiting the historic and beautiful St Paul's Church
lit by trees, decorated by local community groups, schools and firms.
Jayne Beard Associates are kindly sponsoring the festival again in
memory of Jayne Beard who was a former Chairman of the Bedford Hospitals
Charity. This year's theme is "It’s Panto".
The festival runs this year from Wednesday 1 December to Sunday 5
December 2021 and is open Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and on
Sunday 12noon-4pm. Admission is £3 for adults and free for children
under 16.
Choirs feature daily and this year there will be returning visits
from The Bedford Rock Choir, Music for Memory, Hammers Community Choir,
Sharnbrook Community Choir and others.
The annual concert will be held on Friday 3rd December at 7.30pm with
the 'Minerva Piano Trio' performing pieces by Ravel, Stravinsky, Mozart
& Vivaldi. Tickets are priced £17.50 and can be purchased by calling
01234 783181 or via the website
www.peoplesfundraising.com/concert-tickets.
If you wish to join the list of choirs or decorate a tree, please email
Margaret Oakley (Chairman) on
mboakley@hotmail.co.uk |
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Tuesday lunchtime concerts set to return
St Paul's church, Bedford launches a new series of lunch time concerts with a
piano and organ recital by Paul Edwards on Tuesday 21 September, 1.00 pm.
Paul's programme will include Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Gershwin,
as well as 16th and 20th century pieces by lesser-known English composers.The
recital is free with a retiring collection (suggested £5) in aid of church
funds.
Other programmes in this new free autumn lunchtime concert series will include
Soprano and Tenor solo singing, recitals of Flute, Cello and Piano. Details to
follow.
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Bedfordshire orchestra comes to St Paul's in October
The first evening performance in St Paul's for over 18 months is
scheduled to take place on Saturday October 16th, when the church will
host a chamber orchestra from the Bedfordshire Orchestra Society.
The concert will be their first live performance since lockdown. The
chamber orchestra will play a mixed programme showing a full range of
instrumentation, with pieces to include Elgar’s Shed Music, Petite
Symphony by Gounod and Brahms’ Serenade No. 2.
Tickets are already on sale and can be purchased via the ticketing
website
Eventbrite. Further information on the concert can also be found on the
Bedford Sinfonia's
website.
The programme starts at 7.30pm with doors open from 6.45pm. All proceeds
from ticket sales will go to support St Paul’s and it's vital role in
Bedford and beyond.
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Solidarity for Refugee Week at St Paul's
St Paul's will be hosting a small installation of creative pieces by
local schools and community groups on the theme of 'Solidarity' as part
of Refugee Week, a UK-wide festival (2),14th to 19th of June. Creative
pieces will also reflect the lived experience of those seeking asylum
who tell their powerful stories of struggle and hope. Relevant
organisations are also welcome to display information about their work.
Members of the public are invited to take a quiet and reflective walk
around the church to view the installations, open 12.00-2.00 daily.
Fr. Luke Larner, assistant curate at St Paul’s, said:
"St Paul's church, with its history of opening its doors to
individuals from across the world from all walks of life, is ideally
suited to host these displays and to be a point of reference for those
seeking to be informed."
Throughout the week St Paul's will be running an online campaign
including short interviews to hear more about the work many
organisations are doing to support people. Videos will be available on
Facebook,
instagram and
St
Paul’s YouTube channel
Organisations partnered include:
BRASS (Bedford Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support)
Yarl’s Wood Befrienders
Migrants Organise
Local schools
Local art groups
Soul Food Poetry
Strict COVID precautions will be followed at St Paul's in its large and
well-ventilated space.
Earlier this year, Fr. Luke took part in a campaign among other local
faith and community leaders to raise questions about controversial plans
to house 200 people seeking asylum on a temporary site adjacent to
Yarl’s Wood IRC. Concerns were raised about the suitability of the site
and the potential impact on the wellbeing of the proposed occupants. The
plans have now been scrapped, and the site dismantled, with questions
being raised about the process and the significant expenditure on the
project.
Notes:
Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions,
creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
Founded in 1998 and held every year around World Refugee Day on the 20
June, Refugee Week is also a growing global movement. This year's theme
is ' We cannot walk alone'. Through a programme of arts, cultural,
sports and educational events alongside media and creative campaigns,
Refugee Week enables people from different backgrounds to connect as
well as encouraging understanding of why people are displaced, and the
challenges they face when seeking safety. See
www.refugeeweek.org.uk.
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St Paul's Church is awarded 'Major Parish Church' statusSt
Paul's church in the centre of Bedford is celebrating its award as a
Major Parish Church and being granted membership of the Major Churches
Network, in recognition of its importance to the town.
The Major Churches Network is a body set up by the Church of England
which comprises 350 of the largest and most significant churches across
England which are not cathedrals but fulfil many of the same functions
within their communities and includes some of the best loved places of
worship around the UK.
There are strict qualifying criteria to become a member such as being a
building of exceptional significance (often Grade I listed), being open
daily to visitors, to have a role which goes beyond a normal parish
church by fulfilling an important civic and cultural role and by making
an economic contribution to their local area.
St Paul's qualifies in all categories - it is the biggest religious
building in the St Albans Diocese after St Albans Cathedral, the civic
and county church of Bedfordshire, and it plays host to events and
concerts throughout the year. For the past year the new Bedford Visitor
Information Centre - which replaced the old Tourist Information when it
closed - has also been based inside the main body of the church.
Canon Fr Kevin Goss, Vicar of St Paul's said: "We are delighted to
have received this recognition and to have been officially designated a
member of the Major Churches Network. We welcome thousands of visitors
every year and would hope this affiliation will boost the church's
profile further, and in doing do attract more visitors into Bedford."
St Paul's is already a member of
Cathedrals Plus, a body that promotes
cathedrals, abbeys, shrines and major churches which already receive
large numbers of visitors. The church is well-known locally for hosting
the annual Christmas Tree Festival in conjunction with Bedford Hospitals
Charity, attracting around 5000 visitors over the five day event.
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