Church welcomes new minister

A new minister has been inducted at a Whitley Bay church.
Mayor Norma Redfearn and Alan Campbell MP welcome Rev Paul Richards newly arrived Minister at Whitley Lodge Baptist Church at the Induction Service at Whitley Lodge First School.Mayor Norma Redfearn and Alan Campbell MP welcome Rev Paul Richards newly arrived Minister at Whitley Lodge Baptist Church at the Induction Service at Whitley Lodge First School.
Mayor Norma Redfearn and Alan Campbell MP welcome Rev Paul Richards newly arrived Minister at Whitley Lodge Baptist Church at the Induction Service at Whitley Lodge First School.

Whitley Lodge Baptist Church, which meets at Whitley Lodge First School, formally inducted its new minister Rev Paul Richards.

He has moved to the area with his wife Lynn from a previous church in Leicester.

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Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell and Mayor Norma Redfearn were on hand to welcome Rev Richards.

Rev Paul Newman brought greetings on behalf of the Whitley Bay Council of Churches, the Northern Baptist Association and Whitley Bay Baptist Church. The main speaker was Rev Dr John Claydon and the service was led by Rev Graham White.

Whitley Lodge Baptist Church began in 2007 as a development of the former Whitley Lodge Sunday School which had been meeting at Whitley Lodge First School since 1966.

It continues to meet every Sunday at 10am and holds a midweek children’s after-school meeting and a monthly Lite Bite and Banter lunchtime meeting mainly for single people living in the area.

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Its monthly Women Together meeting is well attended by members of several local churches.

Mayor Redfearn commented upon the strength of the many churches in Whitley Bay and upon the success of Whitley Lodge First School which continues to achieve top scores in Ofsted reviews.

Mr Campbell stressed the importance of the role of Churches in reaching out both to the local community and to the wider community in sometimes difficult times.