An amazing opportunity to trace your family connections with St Leonard’s church Cleator.
From 21st to 22nd September we will be celebrating life at St Leonard’s. We have borrowed old archived christening, wedding and burial registers from Cumberland’s Registry office. Alongside the registers, we will be displaying wedding dresses and christening gowns from years gone by, alongside an exhibition of old photos and memorabilia from St Leonard’s.
For the young at heart there will be an opportunity to discover more about this ancient place of worship by following our Church Heritage trail.
St Leonard’s continues to provide a place where so many members of our community connect and enjoy each other’s company: from the weekly Jubilee club to the monthly bingo nights and regular coffee mornings and get-togethers. In a time where concerns are rising in relation to isolation and loneliness in our communities, St Leonard’s is reaching out to provide opportunities to build supportive and caring communities.
Some of you will be aware that these are challenging times for St Leonard’s church. Over the last couple of years, we have had a number of big roof repairs to fund from dwindling resources. At the same time, our weekly giving has fallen and our costs, which are rising due to inflation, now exceed our income. The future of this church is looking very uncertain.
It is thought that there has been a place of worship at St Leonards since the 5th century. Our present building has parts that date from the 12th century. For all these years, St Leonard’s has played a central role in our community, providing a place where we celebrate the birth of our children, join loving couples together in matrimony, and providing a place and a supportive community where we can come to honour the lives of those we loved who have died. It has been a place and a community where people over the centuries have found spiritual sustenance and come closer to the God who loves them.
On the weekend of the 21st (Saturday 10-3) and 22nd September (Sunday 12;30-3:00), we are holding a special event in St Leonard’s. We are celebrating the way the church has been a part of so many family’s histories throughout the ages. There will be a display of wedding and baptism gowns past and more recent; we are borrowing, for one weekend only, archived registers of christening, weddings and burials that took place in the church in the past, and there will be an opportunity for those visiting to search the registers for family members connected with the church. Throughout the weekend we are offering all ages the opportunity to engage in a Heritage trail and learn more about the history of this ancient building and place; there will be a memory tree for those who would appreciate time to remember loved ones who were connected with the church in the past. Home baked refreshments will be available in the Jubilee Rooms throughout the weekend, which will also host a collection of photos and memorabilia connected with St Leonard’s.
On the Sunday 22nd September we are holding a Celebrating Life” Songs of Praise Service at 11:15am. This will be a service that reflects and celebrates the way this church has blessed us though the course of our lives over history. Cleator Moor Brass Band will be playing, and refreshments will be served after the service.
We would love to see you over the weekend, to have the opportunity to share some of the joyous memories associated with this precious place and create new ones too.
The exhibition is open from
Saturday 21st September 10-3
Sunday 22nd September 12:30-3:00
Refreshments served in the Jubilee Rooms all weekend expect scrumptious home baking and tea and coffee and juice. Fun for all the family.
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