The Forest Is Growing!

This is the fourth year that our friends at St Martins URC Chapel in West Moors have organised a Christmas Tree Festival. The number of trees on display increases year on year. I could not get there to put up our tree till Monday after work - and the Chapel was already full - so our tree is in the Hall at the back. I returned on Wednesday afternoon to do a stint as a 'meeter and greeter'. I love the way that the first thing visitors see is the crib scene in the entranceway.

Muriel said they'd had lots of visitors again - and many said "Where is the knitted tree that you had last year?" [Here] She told them it had been made into blankets to bless the people of Romania! Many of this year's tree had a white/silver colour theme [but none of the blood-red ones beloved of Mrs Trump] and others were on the recycling theme.
Our tree is covered in 40 knitted angels, with accompanying angel messages [Great Joy, Good News, Do Not Be Afraid, etc] ...because, as I've said already,  our UCF Christmas them this year is Angels

The chapel and the hall look amazing. I am hoping it is fine weather this evening for "Carols On The Petwyn" - The main street in West Moors is closed to traffic from 5.30pm onwards, and a lantern procession makes its way down from St M's to 'The Petwyn" [a patch of grass at the far end of the street] There we will sing carols and listen to children reading the Christmas Story. After that there will be street food, a Wheelbarrow Race and more entertainments [and back at the chapel, the Gospel Choir will sing some more]
It is a lovely community event.
Here are more pictures of the trees. This post is especially for my blogfriend Pauline - who will be living here in Dorset next year, and I'm sure she will be involved in the Tree Festival along with the rest of us in our local Churches Together group. I'm really looking forward to her arrival [and already planning which coffee shops we should visit together]

Have you been involved in a tree festival? Or seen a CribFest like the one Sue found in Suffolk ?