There were two packed services in St Piran’s Church, Perranzabuloe on Sunday 9 March when a total of over 300 friends and relatives gathered to support people from all over Cornwall as they received The Cross of St Piran from Bishop Tim.

Soon after his arrival in the diocese, Bishop Tim became aware of the outstanding service given by lay people and he noticed that there were very few means of recognising it. Consequently, he decided to institute a new award – The Cross of St Piran.

In all, 18 people were nominated this year for their selfless work – ranging from bell-ringing to providing clothes for orphans, from translating the Bible into the Cornish language to running outreach projects for young people or, in one case, simply playing the church organ at church services for over 50 years!

Presenting the awards, Bishop Tim mentioned how humbling it had been for him as he received the names of the nominees and details of their length of service for the good of others and the extent to which they had made a difference to so many lives.

Referring to the Bible passage chosen for the day, he pointed out that Jesus always had time for people, especially those who were lost in the crowd, quietly getting on with their lives in the service of other people. “One of the greatest attributes we can have is to pay attention to another person and simply listen to them and to recognise the good things that they do,” he said.

Relating this to the humility of the recipients of the Cross of St Piran, he added, “It is quite right to recognise those who are receiving this award today and just for a short while to pull them out from the crowd. They should not feel bad about being called forward and recognised for who they are and what they do.

“Carry on being the disciples that God wants you to be,” he said. “May your faithful discipleship show others something of what it means to be a disciple of Christ and to let others know that Jesus notices them.”

Each Cross of St Piran is hand made from Cornish silver by Martha Edwards from Sennen, based on a design by the Revd Ann Butcher.

 

 

Citations for each of the 2014 Recipients of the Cross of St Piran Award.