The Knitted Bible Festival at Wick St Lawrence Church is delighting children and adults alike, bringing 35 Bible stories to life with its colourful and lively depiction of scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Sandra Redman, deputy churchwarden and fundraising lead at the church, shared her excitement about the exhibition.
“The children were amazed at seeing so many different Bible stories. They were familiar with some of them and there were others they didn’t know. Favourites were The Nativity and The Lost Sheep. As they viewed the different Bible Stories, the children could look out for the little church mice hiding in some of the scenes.”
Sandra has known about Knitted Bible for years and is delighted that St Lawrence Church is now able to host it. She organised a coffee morning in her parish which raised £390 towards expenses. The exhibition tours the country and has been seen by thousands of people. It started in Hartlepool at the United Reform Church in 2008, initially inspired by knitted Nativity characters. Over time, the Hartlepool United Reform Church members have added more Bible scenes, and some of the churches that hosted the exhibition have knitted more sheep for The Lost Sheep story.
The host church is responsible for creating the first scene, The Creation. Families with children from The Benefice by the Sea (Wick St Lawrence Church and St Paul’s Kewstoke Church) helped to make this scene during Messy Church a few weeks ago. The next scene is Adam and Eve. The scenes progress through the Old Testament before going on the New Testament. Everything is set up inside the church. Sandra said, “Our church is a small village church and it’s just fitted in perfectly. It’s absolutely fantastic to think it’s worked out all the way around the church. A small church as well as a large church could host it.” It is free to the host church to loan the installation from Hartlepool United Reform Church (which also accepts donations).
There are programmes available so people can follow the narrative of the exhibits, as well as quizzes, colouring sheets and puzzles for all ages. Teas, coffees and light lunches are available for sale.
In addition to the exhibition, the Knitted Bible Festival features:
- Tours of the church tower
- Music by local hand-chime players, ‘The Clangers’
- Live organ music
- A celebratory closing service
Please see our events calendar for more details.