A youth group has come to the rescue of a Dales church after the main east end windows had to be removed for emergency renovations.
St Mary’s Church in Masham has had a ‘dark and gloomy’ feel since the windows were removed and boarded up. But now, under the supervision of local artist and volunteer youth worker, Gemma Lodge (pictured left), Masham youth group has created a temporary design to brighten the church up.
The designs, which were installed by local painter and decorator, John Scarth, combine a message of ‘Walk in the Light’ with self-portraits of youth group members and Christian symbols: the cross and a dove, representing the Holy Spirit.
St Mary’s curate and acting leader of the youth group, Revd Nick Morgan, said, “The boarded-up windows made that end of the church quite dark and gloomy, so we came up with the idea of a temporary window which says ‘Walk in the Light’, meaning to follow Jesus, whom Christians call ‘the light of the world’.
“We’ve brightened that end of the church up, sent an uplifting message to the congregation and visitors alike, and also now have a very visible reminder of the importance of young people in our community and their contribution to local life and the life of our church.”
Gemma Lodge, a recent graduate in Decorative Arts at the University of Nottingham (and former member of the youth group herself) relished the opportunity to create a unique piece of public art. “It was an unusual and rather unexpected commission,” said Gemma, “but I’m pleased with the result. I grew up in this church, so it’s quite special to have created something which will be here for a few months while we wait for the stained glass to be repaired. The design is nothing like the actual stained glass windows, but it really seems to work in the space.”
Masham Youth Group is part of the Lower Wensleydale Youth Project which serves a number of rural communities in the lower Yorkshire Dales. It is currently looking for a new part-time youth worker to develop this church-based project.
For further information and an application pack, please contact Reverend David Cleeves david.cleeves@onetel.com or call 01765 689255. Closing date for applications is 17th June 2016, and interviews will be held on Friday 24th June.