Baptists in Long Sutton to mark 175-year run

Members of Long Sutton Baptist Church preparing to celebrate its 175th anniversary later this year want the public’s help in marking the milestone.

The church in West Street, Long Sutton, is planning a weekend of events in October in recognition of the landmark achievement.

We thought it would be a shame if people came along and said ‘did you know that this happened before you both came?’ so we want to plot who the ministers were and what was going in at the church over each decade

Before then, organisers are looking for photographs, books and other memorabilia which will help tell the church’s story from 1841 to 2016.

Lorna Durrant, one of the anniversary project leaders, said: “We celebrate the church’s anniversary every year so we’ve known for some time that we were going to be 175 this year.

“The initial kernel of the idea for an anniversary weekend came about four or five years ago.

“But in the past six months, we’ve thought more about organising different events to include a youth night and a This Is Your Life-type event showing our church through the decades.

“We’ve also invited a guest speaker from the East Midlands Baptist Association to join us at our Sunday services.”

Long Sutton Baptist Church started out as an extension of Fleet Baptist Church before the town’s growth saw it overtake its village “mother church” in size.

Today the church offers a variety of activities, including Boys and Girls Brigades, children’s and youth groups, ladies’ fellowship, Sunday School and community lunches.

Sue Hasnip, wife of church minister Rev Nic Hasnip, said: “Myself and Nic will have been here for 18 years in October, about a tenth of the church’s total history.

“So we thought it would be a shame if people came along and said ‘did you know that this happened before you both came?’

“We want to plot who the ministers were and what was going in at the church over each decade, along with reflecting what national and international events took place at the same time.”

Mr Hasnip added: “We’d love to hear people’s stories and see them on the weekend we celebrate 175 years of how much God and all the people have put into the church.

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