Field of heartbreak and hope
St James, the church behind the Devizes Thankful Wall last Christmas, is providing a new public interactive space called The Field over the Easter weekend, enabling everyone to acknowledge and share the losses experienced during the pandemic.
Keith Brindle, Vicar at St James, said:
“So many of us have been affected by the pandemic in different ways, not just through illness or death. Some have lost jobs, have seen their businesses collapse, had their pay cut, or been furloughed; others have experienced loneliness, isolation, or mental and physical health problems.
“Coming together reminds us that we are not alone and helps us heal. Our hope is that The Field will give the people of Devizes an opportunity to share our experiences of the pandemic in a simple and visual way. This weekend marks a year since the first lockdown but is also Easter, which celebrates the enormity of God’s love for each one of us demonstrated in the Resurrection.”
On Good Friday and Easter Eve between 9.00 am and 6.00 pm, anyone can come to The Green outside Devizes School and place one of the crosses and hearts that will be provided into the ground, writing a name or message if they wish. The Field will be transformed into a landscape of hundreds of crosses and hearts.
Then another transformation will happen early on Easter Sunday, when a posy of flowers will be attached to each cross and heart, centred on a large floral display on a cross. On Sunday and Monday, The Field will be a magnificent and colourful landscape of flowers for all to come and see.
Richard Saint, the Community Chaplain at St James, said:
“I am excited to see the community come together this weekend to express their loss while claiming hope for the future by seeing the bare crosses and hearts transformed with new life.”
But that is not the end of The Field.
Sue King, from St John’s Flower Guild and Devizes Flower Club, explains:
“After the display is finished on Monday it will be composted and used to nourish a crocus bed, which will be planted on the site to remind us every year of the pandemic and this time in our history.”
The Field has been made possible through support of Devizes Town Council, and in collaboration with Sheep Street Baptist Church, St John’s Church Flower Guild, St James Church Flower Guild and Devizes Flower Club.
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