Leap Church opens for Scarecrow Festival and Harvest Thanksgiving

The Dean of Ross, the Very Rev. Cliff Jeffers writes:

Last year when we attended the Leap Scarecrow festival as visitors, we noticed that the Church of Ireland church in the middle of the village was closed and the people visiting the Scarecrow Festival walked past the locked gate. For this year’s festival, Dean Cliff Jeffers joined the organising committee of the Scarecrow Festival, and offered to open the church and grounds so that they could be part of the festival.

Decorations in the church grounds for the Scarecrow Festival
The Abbot of Kilmacabea
Giant spider’s web in the church grounds

There were several scarecrows in the churchyard, and the church has been decorated inside by the parishioners for harvest. The church was open every day from the 30th October to the 6th November from 10am to 5pm, and we were keen to make the connection between scarecrows and giving thanks to God for the Harvest. Therefore, there was also a children’s harvest service in on Sunday 6th November at 2pm.

All of the fruit and vegetables that have been used to decorate the church will be donated to Rosscarbery Meals on Wheels, who distribute dinners to elderly people in the local area.

Decorations inside the church for the Harvest Thanksgiving Service
Vegetables and fruit used to decorate Leap Church were packed up by the children of Leap NS, and donated to Rosscarbery Meals on Wheels