A weekend Flower Festival has raised almost £14,000 for Helen and Douglas House Hospice, a home providing care for teenagers and young adults. “God has been so good to us and blessed us mightily,” Audrey Balderstone, organiser of the Stanborough Park church Flower Festival told BUC News. “Our goal was to raise £10,000 and I am so excited that we have surpassed this!”

“At The Name of Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow,” sung with power and conviction, was a fitting hymn with which to end the Flower Festival that ran 25 – 28 June. Entitled ‘Windows On To God’, it drew hundreds of non-members into the church each day to marvel at the superb floral displays which interpreted words of scripture. Focusing on the attributes of God; of the ways in which He interacts with His people; of His redemptive love and power and of the ways in which we respond to His love, the aim of the Flower Festival was to uplift the name of Jesus and to remind our visitors of His great creative power.

Thirty-five arrangers drawn from local non-Adventist churches and flower clubs in the area joined with the Stanborough arrangers to create forty displays of stunning beauty. On the hottest weekend of the year it was a challenge to keep the flowers looking fresh over four days, but as Audrey said at the Preview on Thursday evening “God works miracles in this church” – and He did. The flowers, with a lot of tender loving care, stayed fresh and even a torrential thunderstorm and local flooding did not prevent the church being filled for the excellent Saturday evening classical concert. It took the prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Richard Harrington, three hours to make a half hour journey, but he brought a warm personal message of support from David Cameron whose late son benefitted from the care at Helen and Douglas House Hospice – our chosen charity this year.

An offering collected over £1,600.00 and reflected appreciation for the excellence of the music organised by Roland Guenin. The ‘River of Roses’ was a popular feature of the Flower Festival, with visitors able to give a donation for a rose which they then placed in the water to remember a loved one, say ‘thank you’ to family and friends or to give praise to God. Associate pastor, Mary Barrett, was thrilled at the opportunities she had to talk with visitors about spiritual matters and all involved were able to answer many questions about our beliefs. Most of the congregation who attended the ‘Hymns and Songs of Praise’ service introduced by Valerie Fidelia were non-members. The singing, conducted by Pastor Roy Burgess, was led by the Stanborough Choir and young instrumentalists from the church. The Sabbath morning service, at which Pastor Paul Clee spoke, had an overflow of over 100 who watched the service via a video link in another room.

Audrey says, “Our God is a God of miracles and we witnessed His power, His love and His goodness in mighty ways during our Flower Festival. We are truly delighted with the amount we could raise for Douglas House and for the witness of this festival.”

DVDs of the Flower Festival are available by sending a cheque made payable to ‘SPC Flower Festival’ to: Flower Festival, Stanborough Park Church, 609 St Albans Road, Watford, WD25 9JL at a cost of £6.00 including postage and packing. All profits will go to Helen and Douglas House Hospice.

Photos are available in the BUC picture gallery: www.adventistpictures.org.uk/gallery/2009/FlowerFestival/index.php