Dozens of people turned out yesterday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of a West End church.

The First Church of God in Somerset hosted a free family fun day with arts and crafts, games and fun castles for children.

Lorna Hayward, a church elder and organiser of the event, said the celebration was a great way to promote the church and remind the village of its legacy.

She added: “This is our opportunity to get out of the four walls, get out into the community, let the Somerset community know that we have been here for 70 years; we are still here and we endeavour to still be here.”

The First Church of God was established on Sound View Road, Sandys, on April 3, 1955.

The church also celebrated the anniversary on Thursday with an evening service and further observations were scheduled for services today.

Ms Hayward said that the congregation had remained small throughout the existence of the church and took in as many people as it lost.

She admitted that numbers petered off during the Covid-19 pandemic and that the church was trying to recover.

Ms Hayward added that, although small, the First Church of God was very family oriented and “people-forward”.

She said: “We want the community to know that we are here.

“If there are families that are in need of any support or assistance, we want to give that support to them in whatever way we can.

“The church is all about people — without the people there is no church.”

Attendees of the event who participated in games had the chance to win tickets that could be exchanged for prizes.

One stall offered donated books, toys and clothing for families who needed community assistance.

Pupils from Sandys Secondary Middle School volunteered to help oversee stalls while they also took time to enjoy the games.

Shakei’yae Lambert, a student at the school, said she signed up to volunteer with her brother and a friend.

She said the event had sounded fun — and that she was not disappointed.

The 12-year-old added: “We helped set up the tables and I’m going to start doing some snowballs.

“I also painted some paintings. Later I want to play some games and get some snowballs.”

Her friend, Zy’nia Rankin, aged 9, enjoyed volunteering with Shakei’yae.

She said that she helped hand out prizes to people who won tickets.

Zy’nia was looking forward to seeing the musical and dance performances.