FAIRPLACE Methodist/United Reformed Church in Okehampton has recently begun a special thirteen months of Centenary celebrations.

A stone outside the church bears the date 1903, but because of a boundary dispute the opening of the church did not actually take place until March 2004.

Faced with this slight dilemma the Church Council decided to ?make a year of it?, however, organisational complications have stretched the year to thirteen months.

The celebrations were launched with a church banquet on May 31, and will run until the closing festivities on Sunday, June 27 next year.

The Rev Philip Wagstaff said the banquet had got the celebrations off to a ?very good start.?

Mr Wagstaff said: ?A lot of really hard work has gone into making the centenary events happen. The planning has gone on for a long time, but has increased in the last two months.?

Mr Wagstaff said other community groups who used the church would also be able to get involved in the centenary. ?It is used virtually everyday now, by different community groups,? he said.

Around 30 guest preachers have been invited to lead Sunday services in the coming months, many with family or other links with Fairplace Church.

Last Sunday, June 8 ? Pentecost ? the service was led by the Rev Prof W Peter Stephens of Liskeard, formerly minister of the Mint, Exeter, and a past president of the Methodist Conference.

Various groups within the church are arranging a variety of events throughout the year in conjunction with continuing fund-raising occasions.

The main emphasis of the year will be thankgiving, not least because during the year, all liabilities on the refurbishment of the entire premises should have been met.

The former East Street Methodist Church, whose congregation joined with Fairplace in 1964, has a history almost as long as Fairplace, their church having originally opened a year later in 1905.

Ten years after the coming together of the two churches, the former Okehampton United Reformed Church closed and joined together with Fairplace.

Commemorative mugs and pens ae on sale and it is hoped to publish a Fairplace centenary brochure in time for the actual centenary in March next year.