Garstang Meeting House. Photo: Courtesy of Ian Barke.
Eye - 13 January 2017
From a Meeting's makeover to bairns in a bauble
A Meeting’s makeover
Nestled in the Lancashire countryside, Garstang Meeting House has been a home for local Friends since it opened for worship in October 1829.
As it enters its 188th year the trusty structure now gleams with recently completed renovations as Friends finish a major upgrade. It will be formally reopened on 18 March.
A member of the team overseeing the works told Eye: ‘It’s been a demanding project… We needed to modernise the facilities while being sensitive to the structure, history and atmosphere of the listed building, stable block and traditional burial ground.
‘The aim was to make Garstang Meeting House fit for the future, in particular to support outreach activities. The new link between the main building and stable block contains a kitchen, community area, storage room, shower and adapted toilets.
‘The project wouldn’t have been possible without the strong support of our local Area Meeting and generous donations from so many individuals, charitable trusts and Local Meetings.’
Local Friend Ian Barke added: ‘Thanks to a funding appeal via the Friend, the project received widespread publicity and heartening financial support from all over the country.’
Bairns in a bauble
A ‘tree-mendous nativity’ at Sibford School, in Oxfordshire, saw children from reception class through to Year 3 perform in an inventive Christmas production.
The story follows school caretaker Mrs Potts, who is concerned that the focus on Christmas parties and presents is overshadowing the real reason for the season. So, she creates some beautiful baubles… each featuring a scene from the Nativity. The school enlisted the expertise of Zorb Zone to enable youngsters to step inside their own giant bauble. The scene was entitled ‘Fear Not’ and depicted the visit of the angels to the shepherds to tell of the birth of Jesus.
Helen Hoy, a teacher at the Quaker school, told Eye: ‘The children had great fun stepping into the Zorb Ball and becoming a giant bauble. We are really grateful to Henrietta of the Zorb Zone for enabling them to do this… it was all very exciting.’
