FROM here, there and everywhere, 220 Christmas shoeboxes were collected in the Bude Methodist Church.

Masterminded by Michelle Hogarth and her family, the church was a hive of activity recently. On ‘Shoebox Saturday’ the hall was a collecting point for boxes donated by various organisations, including Bude and Bridgerule Primary Schools, Bude WI and Scouts, whilst a busy band of church helpers filled boxes from tables groaning with donated gifts.

Then, on Sunday, during the morning service, the mass of colourful boxes were blessed by Deacon Debbie Marsh before starting the long journey overseas and into the hands of excited children. A spokesperson for the event said: “Poignantly, these boxes may well be the only gifts these children receive.”

Later in the service Rev Neal Street posed the challenging question, ‘What would you put in your shoe box for Jesus?’ In essence, he explained, the answer is in the last few lines of a carol; ‘If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb/If I were a wise man I would do my part/Yet, what I can, I give Him — I give my heart’.

Those who attended said it was a truly exciting, yet thoughtful, weekend.