SSEN engineers - Mark Compton, Mark Gray and Elliot Webb – work year-round to help keep the lights on for homes and businesses across the Isle of Wight, and have used their spare time to install and light up the Cowes Baptist Church Christmas tree.
Having first been part of the German Christmas Market held by the church some years ago, the outdoor tree has become a local tradition and sits in a prominent position near the junction of Victoria Road and Moorgreen Road, for all members of the local community to enjoy.
The size of the tree makes delivery and installation costly for the church and its pastor, Judith Compton approached SSEN this year to ask if the distribution network operator could help. As well as collecting, delivering and installing the tree and its decorations, the SSEN team has match-funded the church’s contribution to the cost of the tree, donating £150 to the Christmas cause.
Pastor for Cowes Baptist Church, Judith Compton said:
''Cowes Baptist Church's first outdoor Christmas tree provoked such a positive response from the community, that we have continued the tradition; with so many people tell us how they look forward to seeing it, and how beautiful it is. It brings so much joy and stands as a symbol of hope, which was so important during lockdown and, even now, when many people find themselves struggling in different ways.
“Hope is one of the key messages of Christmas. Serving and blessing our community is an important part of being a church, so we are incredibly grateful to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks for enabling us to bless our community with a tree this year, by kindly donating their staff and resources to collect, install and decorate the tree.”
Judith continued:
“We want to make the most of our beautiful tree, so we are inviting everybody in the community to come along and join in 'Carols Around the Christmas Tree' at 6pm on Friday 15 December, and 'Carols by Candlelight' at 6pm on Sunday 17 December. Both will be followed by seasonal refreshments.''
SSEN’s Grant Howlett leads the engineering team for Isle of Wight. He said:
“SSEN has been delighted to install and light up this Christmas tree for all of the Cowes community to enjoy throughout the festive season.
“Our volunteering programme enables us to step away from our day jobs, or use our spare time, to assist the communities we live and work in through charitable acts. When we heard Judith’s plea for help, we knew we had all the right people and equipment to work together with the church to bring some festive sparkle to the town.”