Ruskington remembers with poppies

Ruskington priest-in-training Sara Davies and Chestnut Street School head Claire Buckley with pupils from the collective worship council and some of the hundreds of handmade poppies attached to be hung in church in the run up to Remembrance Sunday. EMN-181015-175135001

Priest-in-training Sara Davies has been encouraging people in the local community to make poppies to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War and look to the future.

She admitted: “Our appeal is not as large as Heckington Church’s as I know that would probably be impossible (they have made over 15,000)! Our poppies are being sewn onto nets which will be displayed in the church from Friday November 9 and remain up for the month. I will be taking a short service of Remembrance at 6.30pm on Friday November 9 after which tea and biscuits are available and the poppy displays can be viewed.”

So far Ruskington residents have knitted, sewn, felted and crocheted 700 poppies, including some purple ones to represent animals that died in the war.

On Monday she led an assembly at Chestnut Street School to enlist their help, and Winchelsea School is joining in too. She is pictured with Head of School Claire Buckley and members of the school’s collective worship council.

* Ordinand Davies is also due to set off on an inspiring trip to the Holy Land as part of her final preparations before ordination as a priest.

The church in Ruskington and All Saints’ Ladies’ Club have both been raising money for her to travel with the Bishop of Lincoln Christopher Lowson and other members of the Diocese invited to visit the Holy Land on a pilgrimage.

She said: “The church and the ladies club have recognised that experiencing the country first hand will help me in my future ministry and so I am of course extremely grateful.”

Ordinand Davies said: “Rev Christine Pennock, the Rural Dean felt in my final year before ordination I should see the sites that the Bible is written about and enhance my future ministry, to be able to talk about them in services and sermons. It was something she did as an ordinand too.”

She added: “We travel out in November and will be staying in both Jerusalem and by Lake Galilee.

“In total the church and Ladies’ Club raised over £1,400 for me by means of a special lunch, coffee mornings, raffles and the proceeds of a fete.”

They will be visiting important Bible sites and Bishop Christopher will lead daily reflection and worship in different important churches on their travels, while engaging with local Christians who are in quite a minority now in Israel, says Ordinand Davies.

Two Archdeacons will be travelling as part of the gruop too.

She plans to do talks about her trip to groups in the Sleaford area.