A CHURCH will appear in a national calendar after winning a place in the finals of a competition for its work with youth groups.

St David's Church, at Tudhoe, near Spennymoor, won £100 in Ecclesiastical Insurance's national competition to recognise churches that have been most successful in adapting to a modern society and changing local communities.

St David's, which will be on the July page of the calendar, collected its prize and copies of the calendar at a ceremony in York Minster.

The church holds a variety of youth groups in the community and on the second Sunday of the month hosts a family-friendly service which features plays, songs and prayers by the children.

When the children's group started five-and-a-half years ago, there were 15 members. Now, there are 35 young people involved in the group, which has a waiting list.

Marie Antliff, chairwoman of Tudhoe Young People's Group, said: "We've been trying to reach out to the community, break down the barriers that exist and make church more fun and more relevant to today's youth.

"The tradition of a family going to church every week has long since passed, so we needed to do something to address that."

The Very Reverend Keith Jones, Dean of York, said: "Church communities cannot survive by trying to resuscitate the past. Ecclesiastical's competition is a challenge to them to become vital centres of life and inspiration for today. The results show what energy and flair there is around church groups in this country."