After months of work the congregation at Princes Risborough Baptist Church in Buckinghamshire was able to worship in its main church building this Easter.

The project, which has been more than eight years in the planning, has seen the worship area completely refurbished to create an attractive and flexible space for Sunday services and other activities. The fixed pews have been replaced with moveable chairs and a new audio visual system has been installed.

The church has an extensive suite of buildings on its site including the main worship area and two sizeable halls, all of which are in regular use each week. Phase two aims to link the whole worship area with the foyer to include further meeting areas.

Minister the Revd Richard Allwood said,  ‘The passage of time and changing patterns of church life have meant we needed to make alterations to our buildings so that they best serve our needs in the 21st century.

‘We have wanted to create a space which will be attractive, comfortable and flexible for our Sunday Services and other activities.

‘We believe this building and refurbishment project will help us to reach out to Princes Risborough and beyond with the Good News of the message of Jesus. In addition we want to have premises which will continue to be attractive to different community groups and organisations.’

The refurbishment will also help the church fulfil its vision of performing more dramas and delivering other contemporary performances.

A celebration and thanksgiving service for the refurbished premises will take place at the Church on 24 May at 3pm followed by tea and refreshments.  The celebration will include a dramatised presentation of 'Voices from the Past; Words for Today.'

The Old Well which fed the original baptistery has been retained as a feature of the renovations, with a glazed top and soft lighting. The theme of the thanksgiving service will be 'Old Well, New Springs'.