The gift that keeps on giving

Hilary and Ray Jones, who live in West Moors, made a wonderful ‘play church’ which they have gifted to St Mary’s.

The project came about when Assistant Curate Ruth Wells was chatting through ideas for the weekly pram service ‘Bells and Biscuits’ with Hilary, and their creative juices started to flow!

Ray was recruited to start work on the ‘play church’ with the idea that children could use it to explore some of what they saw and experienced within the church building. The play church is equipped with mini replica organ, pulpit, pews, liturigcally-coloured altars, a font and working bell.

Commenting on the play church, Revd Andy Muckle, Parish Priest in West Moors, said:

“It is absolutely fantastic and will be such a wonderful resource for our children to play with and explore; making church not only a place that children enter, but a place that engages their imaginations and senses in a very real and tactile way.”

The play church has already been a big hit on its first outing, especially with the ‘Bells and Biscuits’ toddlers who have enjoyed putting play people in and out of the church spaces and rearranging things (without a faculty!).

Revd Ruth, the children, and their parents and carers also prayed that it would help them to play well and learn something about the God who loves them.