St Mary’s Church, Woodbridge, used their grant to purchase Hand Chimes for use in musical worship. The chimes were used for the 2022 Christmas crib and Christingle worship, and have been given out to the children of the church and school to use for celebration, praise and even singing in a local care home. It is planned that the hand chimes will be continued for use in both the church and school, as well as upcoming Harvest and Christmas services.
The children are encouraged to use the hand chimes regularly, and have shown excitement at being able to “have a go” and creating music with them. Because the children are using them in performance for school and church, there is a notable enthusiasm for attendance and participation in the church. St Mary’s ensures to nourish this relationship by inviting the children and their parents to special services – including a Palm Sunday procession, which had 17 children and their parents/guardians attend compared to the five children and their parents/guardians before.
