A LOCAL church that began as nothing more than a wooden hut has grown into a vital part of the community over the past 70 years.

St Helen’s Church, on Laithes Lane in Athersley, will begin celebrating its 70th birthday on August 18 - which also marks St Helen’s Day.

The church has an unusual history and is responsible for bringing Athersley its own parish.

Fr Peter Needham told the Chronicle: “The church has changed dramatically.

“It started as a wooden hut and was one of the first Christian places of worship in Athersley.

“Previously, Athersley had come under the Carlton parish, before changing to develop its own local parish.

“Now there’s the parish of Athersley and Carlton - they’ve come together again, but as sisters now rather than mother and daughter.”

Fr Needham joined the church in May 2019, after having previously served at St Luke’s in Grimethorpe.

While he admits that St Helen’s history is fascinating in its own right, he believes the church’s greatest success is its work supporting the local community.

“It has contributed a lot to what was and in some ways still is the most deprived area of Barnsley,” he added.

“We continue this to this day - we’ve got the Romero Centre offering job and benefits advice to people.

“Then there’s Athersley Cares, which is a group for the elderly that’s organising regular activities.

“We’ve also got karate for disabled people running out of the church.

“This work has gone on as well as things like Brownies and Guides which are hosted at the church.

“It’s part of social responsibility - it’s our job to care for the community.”

While the church’s birthday celebrations will begin on August 18 with a ‘gift day’, Fr Needham is planning a series of events over the course of the year to unite everyone who has a connection with the church.

“For the gift day we’re asking people to come and support St Helen’s with a financial donation.

“There’ll also be a raffle with some great prizes.

“Then beyond that we want to contact people with a history at the church.

“All the people who’ve been married at the church, who’ve been christened at the church and even people whose relative’s funeral services were at the church.

“We’re trying to get as many of these people as we can in through the next year for some events.”

Anyone with a connection to the church, who wants to reach out and get involved with the church’s celebrations, can get in touch with Fr Needham on 01226 934906.