‘Angels of Hope’ spread festive cheer through Stockton
published on 6 Dec 2023
The Salvation Army has been spreading Christmas joy by playing hide and seek with more than two thousand knitted angels across Stockton and the surrounding area for people to find and take home.
The angels have been placed on benches, fences, trees, bus shelters and local landmarks with people encouraged to share photographs of their finds on the Stockton Christmas Angels Facebook page.
Each Angel of Hope has attached to it a card with a Prayer of Hope in a bid to spread festive joy to people who may be struggling to feel hopeful this year due to the rising cost of living or are feeling lonely or isolated.
Major Sandy Davis, who leads Stockton Citadel Salvation Army with her husband Ian said: “This is the first year we’ve done this in Stockton and it’s really taken off! Stockton has had some bad press recently and although levels of deprivation are high, there is a great sense of community spirit and generosity in the town so we wanted to do something to say thank you to people and to spread a bit of festive cheer.
“This Christmas our message is ‘let hope warm your heart, love warm your family and the Holy Spirit fill all of us’.
“We have more than 2,300 angels to place around the town thanks to our wonderful church community who have been busy knitting throughout 2023, as well as members of our online congregation from as far afield as Birmingham, Scotland and Chester who have posted them to us.”
Angels have already been placed in Stockton town centre, on the estate near the hall in Palmerston Street and surrounding areas where many members of the church community live.
Sandy continued: “The reaction has been lovely with lots of nice comments and pictures shared on our Facebook page Stockton Christmas Angels so please keep an eye out for them and if you find one make sure to share it with us!”
Stockton Citadel Salvation Army is seeing a growing demand for support this Christmas with more than 500 referrals received for their Christmas Present Appeal which provides gifts to vulnerable children who would otherwise have nothing to open on Christmas morning. They are able to meet this need thanks to the generosity of the general public who continue to donate.
There are a number of festive events being held at The Salvation Army this year. For more information search for Stockton Citadel Salvation Army or Stockton Christmas Angels on Facebook.
