Bishop reveals winner of Christmas Card competition
A pupil from Montgomery Church in Wales School in Powys has won the Bishop of St Asaph’s Christmas Card Competition.
Rosie, who is nine years old, created an image of a Jesse Tree, which traces God’s promises through the Old Testament to the birth of Jesus. Rosie’s Jesse Tree clearly shows the symbols which represent the lineage of Jesus from the Creation of the World, through to his birth in Bethlehem.
The image was one of more than 1,400 submitted by children from the 49 Church in Wales Schools across the Diocese of St Asaph. This year, the theme was Jesus Hope of the World. The winning design has been turned into the cover of a Christmas card, which the bishop sends to colleagues, family and friends all over the world.
On the back of the card is an image by Robyn, a Year 6 pupil in St Mary’s School in Overton. Robyn’s image depicts Jesus in the manger as a star-shaped bauble for a Christmas tree.
Last week the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, his wife, Clare Cameron, the Diocesan Secretary, Olwen Lintern-Smyth and the new Head of Education, Children’s and Youth Work, Louise Williams, visited Montgomery Church in Wales School. Rosie was presented with a prize by Bishop Gregory, and 10 copies of her Christmas Card, which she can send out to her own family.
Bishop Gregory said: “I am delighted by the creativeness and interpretation that pupils in our church schools bring to the theme. Jesus Hope of the World may seem intangible but framing it in the context of the Jesse Tree, and Jesus’ own family history helped pupils make sense of the importance of the birth of Jesus and the links back through the Old Testament.
“Thank you to all the children who took part in the competition. We had more than 1,400 entries and it is always a delight to look through them all. Thank you to the staff who set aside time to support the children to understand the theme and design their entries.”
The full list of those awarded prizes is:
- First prize to Rosie from Montgomery Church in Wales School, Montgomery
- Joint Second prize to Robyn from St Mary’s School, Overton and Hayla (Year 7) from St Joseph’s School in Wrexham.
- Joint third place goes to Leon, aged 4, from Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School and Dihya Rose, aged 10, from St Giles School in Wrexham.
Three entries to the competition were selected for the cover of the diocesan magazine, Teulu Asaph. They were:
- Hayla and Sienna, both Year 7, from St Joseph’s in Wrexham
- Mirain, Year 6, from Ysgol Tremeirchion.
All the prize winners receive a book token and certificate. In addition, Rosie received an enlarged framed print of her design, along with 10 of the Christmas cards. Certificates were also given to the children from all the schools whose work gained either a Very Highly Commended or Highly Commended status.