Creationtide Prayer Trees

Accompanying the Teesdale Riverside Pilgrimage Way

During the month of Creationtide, September 1 st to 4 th October, we celebrate our natural world around us and pause to think about how we can all do out bit to protect the environment to keep our Earth safe for generations to come.
As part of our recent Teesdale Riverside Pilgrimage, four prayer trees were created at St Mary’s Barnard Castle, St. Marys at Whorlton, St Andrews at Winston and St. Marys at Gainford where local schools, community and pilgrims came together to write prayers, think about environmental impact and placed their prayers on the trees to signify their own personal hopes, fears and intentions for
the future of our planet.

The prayers written on biodegradable tags when placed on the trees symbolised “Moses Burning Bush” which is the theme of Creationtide this year.  A number of schools within the deanery have already taken part.  Steve Whelerton, (Head) Caroline Harland (Deputy Head) and Kirsty Allen (RE and Collective Worship subject lead) came on the Teesdale  Pilgrimage Walk and placed some of the prayers written by children at Staindrop C of E Primary School on trees along the route as well as on trees in their own school playground. Kirsty Allen said, “We wanted to start our new term on such a positive note coming together with other schools and churches to support this deanery initiative and the children are very engaged in the environmental impact of their own and future generations and how this could affect the planet.

Their hopes, prayers and fears that they conveyed on the prayer tags were very real and insightful and they thoroughly enjoyed being part of the project”.

Chris Riley, Head at Gainford C of E Primary School said, “After a rather wet start to the day we found a gap in the rain to walk to St Mary’s and hang our tags.  The children in school have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this project”.

Some of the children at Gainford were walking on the Monday alongside the Pilgrims who are taking the facsimile of the Lindisfarne gospels over 130 miles on the Northern Saints trails.

Sarah Fells (HLTA) from St. Marys Catholic School in Barnard Castle also came along on the new Teesdale Riverside Pilgrimage Walk and brough prayer tags from the school to hang on the trees.

Sarah who is also Chair of the PCC at St. Mary’s at Staindrop said, “It is lovely to be part of an initiative that is bringing schools and churches together across the deanery and the Teesdale Riverside Pilgrimage was a time for getting to know others and a time for spiritual reflection”.

The prayer tree at St. Mary’s Barnard Castle where Rev. Canon Alec Harding and Rev. Sarah Cliffe and Rev Canon Eileen Harrop had been placing tags on from the children at Green Land School watched on by Pilgrimage Lead Tom Deakin.