Community Spirit at the Scarecrow Festival

The Scarecrow Festival has been a much-loved part of life in Sprotbrough, Doncaster, for 11 years, with 10 festivals taking place due to a break during the Covid pandemic. Originally established by members of the Anglican Church to raise money for The Children's Society, the festival now supports a different local charity each year. This year, 75 scarecrows were displayed around the village, raising more than £5,000 for cancer awareness and support charity Firefly.

SMC (Sprotbrough Methodist Church) has been involved for as long as anyone can remember. Members of the church continue to serve on the organising committee and support the event in a variety of ways. Each year, the church hall becomes a welcoming hub where visitors can buy programmes, cast their votes for their favourite scarecrow and enjoy tea, coffee and homemade treats served by volunteers.

This year's festival also provided an opportunity for SMC to take worship beyond its church walls. Inspired by the number of people stopping to chat while preparations were underway, the church decided to hold an outdoor service during the festival weekend. The aim was simple: rather than expecting people to come to church, bring church to the people.

The service attracted around 80 people, including members of the congregation, residents and festival visitors. Children enjoyed craft activities, while refreshments were available at a welcome station by the church gate. Even dogs were invited to join in, with three canine visitors attending. Special biscuits labelled "With love from SMC" were handed out to people, while dogs received bags of treats with the message, "Paws and enjoy – with love from SMC."

Senior Steward and part of the festival team, Leanne Mallory said: "The Scarecrow Festival is one of the highlights of our village calendar because it brings people together. At SMC, we have a commitment to radical hospitality and taking part in the Scarecrow Festival is one of the ways we live that out. We believe it is important not only to welcome people into our church but also to be present in the life of our local community. Festivals such as this provide a wonderful opportunity to meet people where they are, build relationships and show that church is an active, visible and caring part of village life.

“Taking our service outdoors helped us meet people where they were and share something of God's love in a welcoming and relaxed way, plus the acoustics outdoors gave the service a very special feel, the singing and the musicians where amazing.

“The theme of our scarecrow this year was Love Your Neighbour, based on the story of the Good Samaritan. We carried this theme through into both the outdoor service and our Soul Space mindfulness session. In previous years, our scarecrows have been inspired by Bible stories including Moses in the bulrushes, Noah's Ark and Jonah and the Whale, and we've been fortunate enough to win awards for some of our creations.”

You can watch a highlights video on the SMC facebook page