MORE than 100 members of a small Pendle church gathered to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Guest speaker Eric Hughes, from Liverpool, was at Hebron Hall, Walter Street, Brierfield, on Saturday to mark the golden anniversary with the congregation.

He was joined during an afternoon meeting by church elder Fred Parr who explained how the church had formed and gave a potted history of its work over the past 50 years. A buffet tea was followed by the usual weekly Saturday night worship.

The church produced a booklet detailing its history. The first worship meeting was on February 27 1949 at the terraced home of Mrs R Miller, of Albert Street, Brierfield. The church then moved to rooms above what is now Steele, Ford & Newton solicitors' office at the corner of Halifax Road and Colne Road.

As the congregation increased the church moved to larger premises over a garage at the junction of Commercial Street and Colne Road before moving to its current site. The church bought a RAF prefabricated hut which was erected on the site in 1957.

In 1987 the church got planning permission to extend, enlarging the kitchen and toilets and adding three rooms. The original hut was encased in stone to match the extension.

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