A CHURCH left messages of love around the borough over the Valentine’s Day weekend – while also reaching out to those at risk of becoming isolated.
Members of Emmanuel Methodist Church, on Huddersfield Road, dropped hundreds of pairs of knitted or sewn hearts – with the idea being that people could pick them up, keep one heart and the pass the other on to a loved one.
One pack, found in Barnsley town centre on Monday, contains two floral hearts and Bible verses from Lamentations and Hebrews.
The team also put together afternoon tea packs themed around the holiday which were delivered to church-goers and people referred by community organisations.
Project lead Carol Cotton said: “The project is called Real Love in Barnsley and it’s about sharing our love to people who are feeling isolated, and also people who might be caring for a loved one.
“Joan Booth from Emmanuel and myself have been working together with a whole team of volunteers to saturate parts of Barnsley with these hearts.
“We know we can’t reach everybody as there’s only so many of us, so we’re encouraging people to share their love with others and hopefully bring a smile to people’s faces.
“Real love isn’t just for Valentine’s Day or Christmas or Easter, it’s all year round.”