We are a group of people who enjoy making the church look bright and festive. There are more than a dozen of us who, on a weekly rota, arrange a pedestal of fresh flowers at the front of the church ready for Sunday. When arranging flowers, we remain mindful of the church calendar and season. For example, on Remembrance Sunday we arrange a display of red poppies; on St George’s Day we use red and white flowers; and on Gallipoli Sunday we use red and yellow blooms. Three times a year — at Easter, Harvest and Christmas — we decorate the twelve windowsills in church. Palm Sunday features a striking display of exotic palms.

For Harvest we adopt a warm, colourful theme using autumn tones of orange, yellow and red. We also include a large exotic display of fruit and vegetables.

At Easter and Harvest we hold a workshop on a Saturday morning when members of the congregation can come and learn how to arrange a basket of flowers. These are then displayed in church on the Sunday and afterwards taken during the week by members of the congregation to the homes of our sick and elderly members. About 80 baskets are usually made.

Christmas arrangements usually incorporate candles, which are lit for the carol services during the week leading up to Christmas, at our Christmas Eve midnight Communion service, and on Christmas Day.

For a donation, we will be happy to arrange a basket of flowers on the Memorial Table for anyone who wishes to remember a friend or relative whose name is in the Memorial Book. Cheques should be made payable to Bury Parish Church and sent for the attention of Jean Sutcliffe at The Parish Office, The Rectory, Tithebarn St., Bury, Lancs, BL9 0JR. For further information, please contact Michelle Wong.