A Wilburton church was awarded £2,500 for its winning entry into the UK’s largest ever community artwork – which is on display at Ely Cathedral until Monday (October 16) as part of Harvest Weekend.
St Peter’s Church was named as one of the competition winners, and their entry features on the 10m by 3m ‘Great Community Mural’.
The judges said: “This entry has a story. They decided to create an art installation in and around the church. “As a small rural church, fostering
good local community links is essential and the project ‘Fish’ was a way to bring the community together and to the church.
“Fishing nets were hung from the walls, trees and over the church and blue bedsheets were used to create the sea.
“Every child at the local school was asked to decorate a fish and they were proudly displayed around the whole church.
“The submitted piece is a replica of the frieze that was created by the whole community.
“The newsprint fish were made from church newsletters and show the different activities that take place at the church.
“St Peter had been asked to be a fisher of men and the PCC of St Peter’s was answering that call – inviting those who
passed to follow the trail of fish into the sea.
“The fish were made by local children and parishioners whilst the nets were made by the older members of the community.”
The annual competition was run by specialists insurers, Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.
Michael Angell, church operations director at Ecclesiastical, said: “We were hugely impressed by the quality of the entries that we received, which showcase the incredible work that churches do in their local communities all over the country.”
After receiving over 270 entries, Ecclesiastical combined the best pieces of art to create the ‘Great Community Mural’.
Mr Angell added: “We know that there is already a huge amount of work being done by churches all over the UK, however our research recently found that three quarters of UK adults couldn’t name any of the activities that take place inside their local church other than regular services and religious festivals.
“We hope that this mural provides an insight into the vital and irreplaceable services that churches deliver on a daily basis.”
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