GARDEN OF HOPE OPENING
Our Chaplain, Noelle Coe, was part of the team to launch the Garden of Hope at St Marys Church in Quarry Street, Guildford on 26 June. The garden was designed to offer a place where people can reflect on the life changing events of the last 15 months of the pandemic and look forward as a community, with courage, to the future. Noelle explained “this peaceful Garden of Hope offers us a place where we can seek 3 things;
- Remembrance – For those we love and those we have lost
- Thanks – To say thank you for those who have made a difference during this time
- Hope – To start dreaming positively for the future
I am delighted to have been part of the collaborative group involving churches, organisations and businesses who have made this possible. The garden will be open throughout July for people to visit and spend time in – admission free!”
A small ceremony marked the formal opening of the Garden by the Mayor of Guildford, Councillor Marsha Moseley who spoke passionately about the value that the garden would bring to the community, particularly thanking the voluntary sector for the exceptional work they have done during these difficult times. Singer, Charlotte Coe, added to the atmosphere, as she sang “You’ll never walk alone” to the invited guests, including Lisa Townsend, the newly elected Police & Crime Commissioner for Surrey and Sue Tresman, Independent Chair of Guildford and Waverley Health & Care Alliance NHS, along with Church and elected representatives.
