The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, presided over a packed church on Sunday, November 26, as church members, friends and invited guests came together to celebrate our 150th anniversary.

In the days and weeks leading up to the special date, items were put together for a special exhibition in church, outlining the history of the church and how it has developed. There were displays featuring a timeline of the church, how it was founded, a list all of the incumbents, baptisms, weddings, the choir, youth groups, the Mothers' Union, different types of worship and how the world was unfolding during the intervening 150 years, including the founding of the NHS, the coal industry and two world wars. The local scout group had created special shell bunting to decorate the church.

The church was open to the public on the Friday and Saturday before the anniversary and many people came from near and far to share their memories.

During Sunday's service Bishop Paul expressed delight that there were considerably more people present than at the inaugural service, attended by just 23 people. And he said it was appropriate that the first minister was the Rev Thomas Stirrup, since the anniversary was taking place on the Sunday of Christ the King, or 'stir up Sunday' as it is often known!

Bishop Paul also blessed two gifts - a painting of the church by member Anne de Vries and a hand-made glass cross on oak, presented by churchwarden Sandra Partington and her husband, Phil.

Now it's back to normal, with our Eucharist for the first Sunday of Advent next week at 11am.

For more details about our Christmas services see the separate box on the left hand side of the page.