Grantham community gathers for 'moving' launch of Festival of Angels at St Wulfram's Church

Members from the Grantham community gathered for the opening night of the Festival of Angels at St Wulfram's Church in Grantham on Friday.

Large angel sculptors, representing eight archangels who have a different ‘responsibility’ including Gabriel as the messenger and Michael as a warrior, will be displayed in several areas of the church until next year.

The community art project has been funded by the Arts Council, Historic England, South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) and the National Lottery, and has been in the pipeline since 2019.

Anne-Marie Kerr, artist is residence, has been working with individuals and community groups over the last few weeks, to help construct, design and decorate the sculptures, ranging from two meters high to a staggering seven metres.

Rector of St Wulfram’s Father Stuart Cradduck was delighted with the response from the community.

He said: “We were simply taken aback by the response to the opening night of the festival of angels. So many people found the whole experience deeply moving. From the beauty which they saw in St Wulfram’s to learning how the angels were made and the inspirational quotes which were written on the wings of the angels by those who helped build them.

We deeply grateful to everyone who helped in making this celebration of life and hope such a huge success."

The festival will continue until February 2, 2022, and will sit alongside the Christmas Tree Festival this week.

Fr cradduck added: "The Christmas Tree Festival is simply the best annual festival we hold at St Wulfram’s because it is a real celebration of our local community and we hope people will be able to come and see it and have a skate this week."