On Saturday, October 16, the stunning church of St Luke's will be opening its doors between 11am and 4pm for a flower festival to celebrate the feast of their patron saint, St Luke.

The theme is titled A Celebration of Life in St Luke's Parish and the aim is to fill the church with arrangements in glorious autumn colours put together by the various organisations and groups who have links with the church, such as the Scouts, local schools and playgroups as well as flowers arranged by members of the congregation and local groups.

Several groups have already chosen an appropriate hymn title to link in with the theme of their work.

The church opens for visitors at 11am and refreshments will be available. Libby Spurrier, a long time member of the church who is helping organise the festival, said: "We are looking forward to filling the church with flowers, foliage and berries, and seeing what ideas the various groups come up with.

"We are very lucky to have this wonderful space. St Luke's is a big church and we know that when we 'dress up' the church for special occasions, it really does repay the effort, and always looks magnificent.

"It will be a treat for us to take part and I really think it will be a big treat for visitors."

The Vicar of St Luke's, the Rev Elisabeth Morse, added: "I think that church buildings represent a shared set of values that can bind quite unrelated people together in a common cause.

"The marvel of church buildings is that they represent different things to different people: a church can be a real barometer of the community around it.

"Churches are focal points in communities – and their size, their beauty and their solid strength can actually feed the spirits.

"We look forward to welcoming visitors and hope too that people will not only enjoy the beauty of the church filled with flowers, but will feel spiritually refreshed by the experience."

St Lukes, Battersea, is on the corner of Ramsden and Thurleigh Roads, between Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, SW12 8RQ.

Enquiries to Parish Office 020 8772 0463, parishoffice@stlukeschurch.org.uk and www.stlukeschurch.org.uk.

Based on information supplied by Libby Spurrier.