Mistletoe and pine

The spirit of Christmas was alive and well at Macclesfield and Bollington United Reformed  Church, as they held their third annual Grand Christmas Tree Festival.

Each year, the Festival sees people and organisations donating decorated Christmas trees. The trees are then all displayed at the Church, with all profits being given to Shelter and the Alzheimer’s Society. The Church is keen for the decorated trees to reflect the identities of their donors, however, there were no rules on how individual trees should look. Amongst the 35 trees on display were a “memory tree”, which was decorated with the thoughts and memories of dementia sufferers.

During the Festival, there were concerts provided by various choirs, bands and individuals, storytelling among the trees and even a visit from Santa, who found time in his busy December schedule to say hello. The Festival came to a close with a Celebration Service on Sunday 13^thDecember.

Attending the Festival, Macclesfield MP David Rutley said, “I am delighted to once again visit the Grand Christmas Tree festival and offer my support to this great initiative, which has raised funds for two very worthy causes. The trees look fantastic, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work putting the Festival together.”