Stroud Baptist Church

Saturday was a day of celebration at Stroud Baptist Church as the new minister, Rev Keith Rudman, was inducted into the fellowship.

South African born Keith has come to Stroud from Uckfield in East Sussex, with his wife, Julie, a nurse, and their two teenage children, Sam and Hannah.

The service was led by Rev Matt Frost, from Cirencester Baptist Church, and Rev Jo Regan, minister at Kings Stanley Baptist.

Other church leaders from the town were also there to warmly welcome Keith to Stroud.

Keith and Julie said of their move to Stroud: "It is friendly, welcoming and open, the friendliest place we have ever lived."

Church secretary Derek Jowett said: "Keith is certainly the right person for us here in Stroud and we are very pleased to welcome Keith and Julie and the family."

The occasion marked an exciting new phase in the life of the listed building in John Street.

In the last two years the church has been completely refurbished.

Gone are the hard and creaky wooden pews, replaced with comfortable chairs and carpeting, giving much more flexibility and scope in the way the church can be used.

It has brought the 19th Century building well into the 21st Century with its very different demands.

Thanks were expressed at the service to Matt Frost, who has supported the leadership team when they were without a minister; to all who were involved in the work on the church, and to the group who provided the wonderful refreshments.

Thanks were also given to all those who have taken services over the last two years, and greetings were received from churches throughout the district and from previous ministers at Stroud Baptist.