‘Love came down at Christmas’… as Anna Chaplain Maggie Dodd explains:
‘After the inspirational post from the Barrow Anna Chaplaincy about their star project, I asked churches in St Albans to knit, stitch, or decorate wooden stars to wrap and give to each care home resident in St Albans. I calculated there are about 587 rooms in residential care homes in St Albans and so aimed for 600 or so, to cover all the stars I would need.
‘The churches were brilliant, 13 got involved, including the Cathedral, the two Methodist churches, seven Church of England churches, one Baptist and two URC churches, as well as various Rainbow and Brownie units, Sandridge Primary School and Sandringham School’s Key Stage 3 Art Club.
‘We hit our target, and after several wrapping sessions at churches, I was able to deliver the stars to the twelve care homes in St Albans this weekend.
‘It’s been a great catalyst for conversation with the churches about Anna Chaplaincy and connecting with care homes in the city. Please say a huge thank you to the Anna Chaplaincy in Barrow for their great idea, it worked really well here, and by the sounds of it the churches would like to try something similar again next year.’
‘What an amazing project, (writes Debbie Thrower) bringing together so many people across generations. Every star is unique; a kind and thoughtful gift for residents who will be feeling especially far from family and friends this Christmas as Covid restrictions impose further isolation on those living in care.
‘For example, my own godson and his brother travelled all the way from Cornwall and London respectively this weekend to visit their grandmother in a care home in the north of England. It was a long-planned visit (booked with the home two months ago), only to be told on arrival yesterday that the home’s regulations had changed and they could only wave at their grandmother through the window. It was heartbreaking for the whole family.’