A SENIOR figure in the Methodist Church has visited church projects around Darlington as part of his mission to hear about good works being done around the country.

The Reverend Ken Howcroft, President of the Methodist Conference, spent a number of days visiting Methodist Churches around Darlington this week, meeting members of the congregation and those involved with church projects.

One of the roles of the President is to visit Methodist churches around the country to share news among different congregations.

Mr Howcroft started his visit to the North-East by giving a sermon at Bondgate Methodist Church and also visited Hurworth Methodist Church to see its community cafe.

The church teamed up with the Clervaux Bakery to open a daily cafe within the church building last summer as a way of providing village residents with a place to gather and a venue for community events.

Mr Howcroft met with members of the Hurworth congregation at the cafe and also chatted with parents of a weekly toddler group, Sunflowers, which is run by a youth worker funded jointly by the Methodist and Anglican churches.

His visit to the Darlington district ended with a meeting of ministers in the Darlington Methodist Circuit.

The Rev Andrew Stobbart, co-Superintendent Minister in the Darlington Methodist Circuit, said Mr Howcroft’s visit was a chance for Darlington churches to share their successes with the wider organisation.

He added: “Mr Howcroft was here to find out about our cafe project and how the church has embraced the new venture and some of the new opportunities it presents us to welcome new people.

“It is a chance to celebrate all the good things the church does and showcase some of the exciting projects we have got going on here.”

The Hurworth Methodist Church community cafe is open to the public Monday to Saturday, between 8.30am and 4pm.