St Michaels Church teddy Bears' picnic

There were several princess bears, a pirate one and even a swimming champion complete with goggles and rubber hat, all contestants in the Best Dressed Teddy competition which took place during the afternoon, as the sun shone down over the garden next to the church hall.

Youngsters brought their favourite bears along to the picnic and allowed them to join in the fun, but it wasn't just about the very young - 63 year old Alison Marchant brought along the well-worn teddy who was her loyal companion when she was a child; Pinnie is now 58 years old and worn around the edges, but still a much-prized possession.

The teddy bears' picnic also included a sensory bear hunt and other games and was organised by Zoe Smith who is branch leader of the Mothers' Union for St Michael's and St Peter's church.

She said: "We wanted to raise awareness of the Mother's Union and the work that it does, and also just have a fun afternoon with the younger ones in the parish and beyond. It is going really well - we have got around 30 children here. We have a little craft table where they are making teddy masks, and at the start we had a treasure hunt with little teddy bear biscuits we hid all round the field. We have also played a parachute game, where we put teddies in parachutes and threw them in the air."

Zoe explained that the Mothers' Union is a Christian organisation which works to support families and runs various projects in the UK such as parenting courses. She also described what happens at a contact centre for families in Eastbourne which is to assist children from broken relationships, and a project at Lewes Prison where fathers are able to record stories for their children on tape, which are then taken away and delivered to their families.

There was a display of work being carried out in the Sudan, where a literacy project is currently underway, and Bexhill members recently had a talk about work with HIV and Aids sufferers in Kenya.

Zoe said: "The Mothers' Union has a tea-and-cake image and that is we do a day like this to break down barriers and sho it doesn't have to be about tea-and-cake. Anybody can join - man or woman, married or not married, a parent or not a parent."