Parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy Church work at hectic pace to set up what’s touted to be city’s tallest tree yet
A towering Christmas tree being set up at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Thane West is likely to become the city's tallest, when it is ready on Christmas eve. Currently, at 30 feet, the gigantic tree is expected to rise another 10 feet in the next four days. The tree is the result of the combined effort of parishioners and church authorities.
The 30-foot-high Christmas tree at Our Lady of Mercy church in Thane, which will rise to 40 feet
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"This is the first time that the parish has had such a huge Christmas tree," said parishioner Melwyn Fernandes, who, along with another member Richard Joseph, has been overseeing the building of the tree's structural framework and decoration. "The main reason behind putting up the tree was so that people of all faiths could see it, and acknowledge that it was our savior Jesus Christ's birthday," Fernandes said.
According to Fernandes, around eight parishioners have been gathering at the church courtyard daily for the last one week, and tirelessly putting in an average of seven hours of work to decorate the tree. "We first needed to prepare the skeleton of the tree and ensure that it was stable and resistant to strong winds. In fact, before setting it up, we had also created a design on a computer software," he said.
Parishioner Melwyn Fernandes, who has been overseeing the design, seen decorating the tree last night
The total cost of setting up the tree is around R70,000, and it's being split equally between the church authorities and parishioners. Speaking about the initiative, parish priest Father Rudy Andrade, 62, said, "I haven't seen such a huge tree in the city, before this. It reminded me of the one found in Jerusalem. The parishioners are putting their heart and soul into making this a huge success. Despite their own commitments, people have been staying up till late to put up the tree."
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