Pupils’ mural to help with celebrations at church

School children designed a fitting mural to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a church rooted at the heart of their community.

Fifteen pupils from Tree Tops Academy, in Park Wood, used their creative talent to make a piece of art in commemoration of the celebrations at Christ Church, which is opposite the playground in Wallis Avenue.

The youngsters designed five banners to form a landscape of a colourful tree.

Brenda Burgess, the school’s artist in residence, said: “The tree has deep roots, for every tree needs deep roots to flourish. The sun and moon depict day and night, and the changing seasons remind us of different seasons in our lives.”

The decoration, which will sit at the front of the chapel, was unveiled at a party on Sunday to mark the golden anniversary.

Past and present members of the congregation attended and had the opportunity to admire the venue’s recent makeover, including new fencing, interior and flooring.

Canon Arthur Houston said: “While we are celebrating our first 50 years here, our focus is looking forward. We want to ensure the church is ready to play its part in this community, so preparing the building and building partnerships, particularly with the school, is integral to that. It is wonderful to see the vibrancy of the children’s art.”

The original work was enlarged to fill the space before it was given the finishing touch of a large oak cross. The finishing touches were carried out by Yeomans marketing and fundraising specialist in East Peckham and Mediatek printers in Hadlow.