A NEW stage in the life of Crediton Methodist Church began on Saturday morning (September 14) with the formal opening of the ramp to the front of the building and the refurbished interior.

A large, clear space has been created where there had been pews, a space put to very good use on Saturday when visitors settled down at tables for the lunch and tea, to listen to music and take a rest from looking at the floral displays and the displays of the church activities and some of the community groups who meet there.

Everyone in the church was ushered outside for a photograph like the one taken at the opening in 1892. The Minister, the Rev Ann Varker, welcomed everyone in the sunshine, introducing Cllr Frank Letch, Mayor of Crediton, who cut the first ribbon, holding the scissors in both feet.

He gave a very short resume of Methodism in Crediton, saying it began in Dean Street, moved to Moose Hall in 1815 and how “a wonderful man” William Perkins Harper, a Master Thatcher, left a trust fund for a new church.

Read more in today’s paper.