A Bridport church group has held a special service to celebrate Samhain.
The Chapel in the Garden held the service on Sunday, October 29 which was led by Angelica Kennard, Unitarian Celebrant.
Mrs Kennard said: “This time of year when we celebrate Halloween, All Saints, All Souls and the ancient festival of Samhain is the time of liminal space, when the veil between life and afterlife is considered to be thin.
“At the Chapel we gathered with a spiral made of apples, chestnuts, squashes and old leaves to venerate this time and the turning of the year.”
Samhain is an important date in the Pagan calendar which marks the Feast of the Dead and has been celebrated in Britain for centuries and has its origin in Pagan Celtic traditions.
The festival starts on October 31 and carries through until November 1. It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, approximately halfway between the summer and winter equinox.
Members of the congregation held prayers of love and concern with candles of hope lit and placed in the autumn spiral.
The room was scented by apples, around which the congregation joined hands in a dance for universal peace with the words ‘may I make peaceful steps upon the earth'.
The congregation also remembered people caught in conflict trauma with prayers for a peaceful outcome expressed by many.
Children played quietly at the congregation's feet during the candle lighting and the reading and then joined in the circle dancing.
Margie Barbour, a member of the congregation, added: “I was pleased to ask to read a passage from the Bible, honouring our connection with the forefathers of the chapel and their Unitarian and free Christian faith.”
Remembrance Day will also be observed at the chapel in a service by Angie Porter on Sunday, November 12.
A special Yule service will also take place on December 20 at 5pm and there will be carols at the chapel door on Christmas Eve from 4.30pm, with mulled apple juice and warm drinks.
All of these events will take place at their chapel on East Street in Bridport.
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