FAITH IN THE COMMUNITY: Symbols of light show hope coming out of darkness
You may have seen in The News the announcement of this year's 'We Shine' – the citywide festival that aims to enrich our city’s cultural landscape.
St Mary's Church in Fratton will be one of the four host venues for the celebrations in November. After a variety of light installations over the past years - including the Museum of the Moon; the Sun and the specially commissioned piece based on St Mary's - this year's installation is an interactive piece called 'Stretch'.
Alongside this we will be holding the Lantern Parade along Fratton Road with lanterns made by a variety of community groups and individuals.
Light is – of course – a poignant symbol in the Christian life, and also in the secular world, of bringing something hopeful and positive out of the darkness that we often focus on too much. It is also a spectacular and fun way of us celebrating our life as a community.
St Mary's Church works in partnership with Fratton Together to think about how we can find light in our community. This year we will also be working with 'Pride in Place - Landport', which is the government-funded programme that will invest £20million over 10 years in the local community.
The Lantern Parade is one way St Mary's Church works with others to build up our common life and to celebrate all we share together. You can find out more on www.weshineportsmouth.co.uk
Another opportunity to do that will be throughout September, when we will be inviting local groups and churches to join us in responding ‘With Thankful Hearts’ to the many gifts that God has given us, including the gift or creation.
This is our way of celebrating Harvest, which allows us to reflect on the food we have, as well as reflecting on our stewardship of God’s creation and how we are called to share the gifts we have been given.
Each year, it gives us the opportunity to pause and give thanks and to find ways to share with others.
We invite everyone to find time to donate items to their local foodbank or Pantry. We also encourage financial donations to support the work of 'Kitchen of Hope' as part of the work of Portsmouth City of Sanctuary.
Whether through Harvest or Lantern Parades we hope you will find ways of bring light into your community and sharing the good things we have.
ST MARY’S CHURCH, Fratton Road, Fratton, Portsmouth, PO1 5PA