A FERNDOWN church will celebrate a significant milestone next weekend with a harvest celebration.

St Mary’s Church, which has reached the grand old age of 80, has stood sentinel over the town since 1933.

But the building’s relatively young age may shock parishioners, who often believe it to be significantly older.

Operations manager for the church, Tracey Nicholls, said: “The architecture of the building looks gothic, so often people are quite surprised to hear it’s actually a reasonably new building.”

She added: “The aim of the weekend is to have something for all the family to enjoy.

“We’re hosting a full weekend of events to celebrate. We always host events for harvest, and this year it just seemed like a nice idea to combine the two.”

On Friday, September 27, the church will open from 10am until 4pm to showcase a host of floral displays.

Mrs Nicholls said: “It will be like a mini flower festival, which is sure to be absolutely beautiful.”

The following day will have much to do for even the youngest worshippers.

“From 10am to 4pm, there are going to be displays in the hall and church, but we’re also going to have a bouncy castle, penalty shoot-out, face painting and more for little ones,” Mrs Nicholls said.

“There will also be pizza and hotdogs at lunchtime, and then a bit later on, from 3pm until 4pm, cream teas will be served in the hall.”

The final day of the long weekend will feature traditional services, with a Holy Communion at 9am, a family service at 11am and a ‘hungry’ service in the hall at 7pm.

There will also be a collection for the work of local couple Simon and Sue Morgan, who are volunteering full-time as missionaries in Uganda with Mission Direct.

However, as with all the best birthdays, visitors would be well-advised to make room for cake.

Mrs Nicholls said: “One of the lovely members of our church does cake decorations, and she’s going to make a special anniversary treat for everyone.”

All activities and refreshments are free of charge and all will be welcome to attend.