Churchgoers will no longer have to travel to Honiton for services

A new community church is opening at Sidmouth College, and is holding its launch event there this weekend.

The church was originally based in Honiton but is now opening up in other towns.

Church team leader, Adrian Birks, said: “We currently gather people from a wide area, including the Sid Valley, and so it makes a lot of sense for us to set up a new site in Sidmouth.”

But he added that there was no intention to compete with other places of worship. “With a number of churches already in Sidmouth, we’ve been very conscious of the need to be courteous neighbours, sharing our plans with Sidmouth church leaders at a very early stage. They in turn have been very welcoming and we look forward to serving Sidmouth together, looking for opportunities to work in partnership in social action and in sharing the good news of Jesus.”

The launch starts at 10am on Sunday September 30 and there will be a free lunch.