More than four hundred green woollen rectangles have been created by volunteers at St Martin’s Church in Worle. For months they’ve been getting together in groups with friends and family, or knitting at home, to make the foliage which will eventually become an 8 ft “Bind Us Together” tree. The knitted tree will take centre stage at the Christmas Tree Festival being held in the church during December.
Vicar of St Martin's Church, Rev Jon Ormrod, admits he is not a knitter, but he, and many other non knitters have been doing their bit too, they've been making pom poms to decorate the tree. On the top of the tree will be a specially made star, it will also have knitted leaves.
Jon said, “What I’ve loved about it is that it is all about bringing people together, trying to work out things together, to be there for one another and also the church can be there for the community, and that’s what we are also doing with the Christmas Tree Festival, we are saying to the community ‘come on in, join us and let’s all together create some joy this Christmas.’”
Alongside the 8ft knitted tree there will be 24 Christmas trees decorated by different groups from around Worle; the local solicitors firm, the guides, the estate agents, the WI and more are all taking part. The Bind Us Together tree will be put together on 8 December the day before the Tree Festival and will be revealed to all as the festival begins on the evening of 9 December.
Half the money raised from the Christmas Tree Festival will be donated to local foodbank. The knitted Christmas tree will have a life after the festival. When all the trees are taken down and the knitted tree is taken apart, all the knitted leaves will be gathered together and the knitters will take to sewing. This time they plan to sewn all the 'leaves' together to make blankets which will be donated to the Salvation Army.