Pennington Poppies are back! People from across our communities have been hard at work knitting and crocheting poppies. Revd Rachel Noël, the Priest-in-Charge at St Mark’s Church Pennington, appealed to the whole community to get involved. So far, almost 2,000 poppies have been made this year by people across the community, from the church, the WI, the bingo ladies at Pennington Sports & Social Club, local care homes, and many others – these will be added to the 2,000 that had already been made last year!
Revd Noël said “We put out notices in the village and on social media, with links to patterns. We’ve been overwhelmed at the amazing response from people across the community. Our thanks to Pennington Pharmacy, One Stop, Musketeer, Wheel Inn, Visual Vibes, British Legion and Pennington Club for hosting collection bags. We are so encouraged by the amazing outpouring of support from people for this project, encouraging the whole community to be proud of Pennington for Remembrance 2019.”
Paul Young, from St Mark’s PCC said ” From someone who used to be outside the church with no interest in looking in, to now being part of the church and eager that those who used to be where I was come and find out more about what St Mark’s has to offer, the idea of knitting poppies was an inspired one. So many people have engaged with the idea, many of whom are not actually part of our congregation – but through ideas like this, the church is bringing the community together: sharing a common pride in the history of our village, with the church as a driving, central force.”
Revd Rachel said “I’m so proud of the way the whole community has come together, bringing together young and old, to mark the sacrifice made by so many from our village in past conflicts. The poppies have inspired so many, and I suspect many of them have been made by people who often feel invisible in our communities. It is exciting to see the impact that can be had when we all work together.”
The poppies can be seen outside St Mark’s Church Pennington from 1st November, leading up to our Remembrance services.
Photographers welcome at any events but please do let us know you are coming by calling. Contacts: Revd Rachel Noel on 01590 462022
Photographs available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gnhqtezex0pi9yg/AABaf7D-z-7KMx796L1Yy54Ha?dl=0 The photograph of Revd Rachel Noël with the poppies on the floor is the 2019 poppies that have been made. The other photographs are the poppies that were on our churchyard hedge last year.
Download the press release here.