Christ Church shoes project

Shoes – they know where you’ve come from and will take you where you’re going.

Story: Karen Skidmore

In March some residents of Pitsmoor had a knock on their door and were greeted with a strange request – “Could we draw around your foot and listen to some of your story?” Some actually gave some of their shoes which they didn’t want any more… and all to be part of a display in Christ Church.

The place was strewn with stories – outlines of peoples’ feet hanging from the pillars filled with writing, work done by children from Pye Bank School, and in the centre on the floor there was a circle of shoes. There were women’s, men’s and children’s shoes. Some of the shoes had pieces of paper attached to them with something written about the person who had walked in those shoes. Some of them were worn-out, some of them hadn’t been worn very much. Some of them were work shoes, some of them had been worn on special occasions. Some of them had danced, some of them had walked up mountains. Some of them had been all around of the world. All of them made you think about the people who live in Pitsmoor and their journeys.

“Shoes” was a project that Christ Church ran because they wanted to give people an opportunity to think about their own stories and to share them. They wanted to give people an opportunity to learn about other peoples’ stories. In the Burngreave area there are some people who have lived here all their lives and many people who have moved here from all different parts of the world. As we go about our daily lives we don’t always have the chance to find out about the other people that we pass in the street. When you look at a pair of shoes it is fascinating to think about where they have been and the story that they tell.

The final week of the project coincided with Holy Week for Christians. It was particularly special for the members of Christ Church and those who joined them to meet on “Maundy Thursday” for food, entertainment and foot washing. Having spent the project thinking about the feet that walk around Pitsmoor, it was very moving to wash each other’s feet as a symbolic act of love and service.

The Shoes project was a wonderful experience – from when the “taster” display was first put out in Burngreave library, to the workshops that took place in Christ Church, to food and fun in Nottingham Street Park on Easter Sunday. Above all, it has been fascinating to be able to read and hear about so many people’s journeys. No one who comes into contact with these stories can be unaffected by them.