HUNDREDS of visitors passed through the doors of Whitefield Methodist Church to rekindle fond memories, meet old friends and make new acquaintances.

A grand celebration weekend was staged to coincide with the Sunday School anniversary and the Queen's Golden Jubilee and took on the theme of past, present and future.

The Elms Street church was open to the public throughout the weekend (June 8 and 9) with a display of old photographs and memorabilia on view.

Parishioners rounded off the weekend with a special service on Sunday and a belated Jubilee street party.

Senior vestry steward Barbara Hall said of the event: "It was brilliant, marvellous! We had around 300 people just on the Saturday then more than 100 people at the service on Sunday. We are delighted to have raised the profile of the church in the community and we achieved what we hoped for with the weekend."

Among the visitors were members past and present, former ministers and even people who have lived in Whitefield for many years but have never set foot inside the Methodist Church.

Barbara added: "Everyone made comments that were favourable and some commented on the sense of peace they experienced while in the church."

The event was such a success the church has decided to keep its exhibition up for another month and a CD-Rom of photographs depicting the church's history will be available to buy for £2.50.

For more details about the photo collection, contact Mrs Jean Woodbridge on 0161 766 5237. Money raised will go to church funds.