Churchyards and Peace gardens

Hats off to those who help maintain our churchyards at Tarvin and Duddon including the Z Team. Both churchyards are very well kept. Those who voluntarily help at Tarvin deserve a medal for patience because it really is a very demanding task with them having to cope with cans, chip papers etc etc. No sooner is it tidied up than parts of the churchyard are knee deep in wrappers again.

Many people visit the churchyards over the week, and this includes many of our young people who use Tarvin particularly as a gathering place. I have to say that, litter apart, they are welcome to use the churchyard. It is a public space and I suspect has been used as a meeting place for hundreds of years. What is not welcome is the intimidation that some of them have been getting from older youngsters and we are encouraging anyone who has been intimidated to report that as soon as possible.

I estimate that there are about 60 youngsters - though they don't all meet at the same time! They belong to different groups and represent different age groups. The churchyard is the last place where there should be friction and bullying. (There's probably about 600 children and young people living in the parish - which we sometimes forget!) One of the groups meeting in the churchyard have joined choir practice a couple of times and they are keen to have another go.

I sometimes wonder whether it might be more helpful to refer to the churchyard as a Peace Garden as well as a churchyard. It is after all a place where we remember loved ones 'at peace', and many grieving relatives come and find 'peace' by visiting the churchyard. Probably the word 'churchyard' implies that the space is for the 'dead' which is not the message which we as Christians want to convey. It should be a place where resurrection is celebrated. The title 'Peace Garden' sounds more modern and might convey the message that this is a place set aside in our community to find peace and to practice making peace. I wonder. It's just a thought.

One idea being explored for the churchyard at Tarvin is the creation of a space to support those who have had miscarriages and to remember those who have been stillborn. The PCC has had a preliminary discussion on this and hopefully there will be more to report in the next couple of months.