CELEBRATE and sing for 100 years of Fairplace Church in Okehampton at two special events taking place in the next two weeks.
The services to mark Fairplace Church's centenary should be a memorable centrepiece to a year of celebrations.
The present building was opened and dedicated on March 1, 1904, the congregation having moved from their former location near West Bridge — the present New Life Church.
On Sunday, February 29, the nearest Sunday to the 'actual' ceremony, the morning service will be conducted by the Rev Philip Wagstaff.
The evening service will be a Songs of Praise at which Okehampton Choral Society will augment the church choir and will be accompanied by a visiting orchestra and a guest organist, with full participation by the congregation.
The conductor will be Mr J V Holland and the service will be recorded.
On March 7, there will be a celebration of the centenary of the first Sunday service held at Fairplace.
This service will be led by the Rev John Came, chairman of Plymouth and Exeter Methodist District and the Rev David Grosch-Miller, moderator of the South Western Synod of the United Reformed Church.
Fairplace is a joint Methodist and United Reformed Church congregation and the Devon County Ecumenical Officer, the Rev Simon Taylor, will also take part in the service.
Originally, the church was to have been opened in 1903, as the stone outside it indicates, but because of a minor boundary dispute, the opening was delayed. The Church Council, faced with this slight dilemma, decided to cover both dates and to arrange various celebrations from last June until June 2004.