A holy reunion

A reunion party was held at St Luke's church, in Fernhead Road, on Saturday, bringing together people
who have come to the church over the years since the foundation stone was laid in 1958.

Alastair Thom, vicar of the church since 1998, said he was delighted that so many people enjoyed coming to the church.

He said: "One of the most attractive things about the church for me is that there are so many people in
the congregation who all come from different backgrounds, which is very much reflective of the area.

"We also run after-school clubs for children of different ages, which are very successful in bringing young people here.

"Every day is different, but I think it is the people who make the job. People have come and people have gone over the years, but I still very much enjoy working here."

He added that he had seen many changes at the church in the last 10 years. He said: "We have done some
refurbishment work on the building to make it look nicer on the outside, and we have just completed a
redesign of the garden. Hopefully the church will be around for many more years to come."

Sister Ivy Corney, 87, who attended the reunion, was visiting the church for the first time since she left the vicarage in 1968.

She worked with the Church Army, providing help for those who had to move when their houses were bombed during the Second World War. She said: "We all worked as a team, including the vicar at the time,
Rayleigh Prater and his wife. A lot of people left the area, because they were getting better jobs and making
more money, but they would still come back and worship at the church.

"Every Christmas we used to work ourselves to the bone, taking gifts to elderly people in hospital, to
make sure they weren't forgotten.

"It's so lovely for me to come back today and find the same kind of support, even though the outside of the
church has changed quite a bit."