A CONGREGATION is gearing up to celebrate a momentous year in its church’s history.

Members of the United Reformed Church in Ongar will mark the 350th anniversary of the denomination, which was formed after ministers split from the Church of England in 1662, throughout the year.

They have also been celebrating the 80th birthday of their longest-serving member, Jean Easter, who started attending the church as a seven-year-old evacuee.

“The church gave me a rose bush and came to sing to me, which was lovely,” she said.

“It was quite nice to have the church there when I was evacuated.

“I went to the Sunday school and just stayed ever since.”

She and her brother, who were sent to live in Ongar from Leytonstone, stayed with a woman in the Shelley area of the town and were joined by their mother after the Second World War, as their home was destroyed in the Blitz.

She and her husband Dennis were married in the church in 1954 and their son, Anthony was baptised there by the same minister, Mr Bryant.

“After we were married, it was about six years before we had a child and Mr Bryant said ‘I’m going to baptise this child if it’s the last thing I do’,” she said. “He moved away to another church after that.

“It was nice to have the same minister for both. We’ve now got a part-time minister with four churches.

“The congregation has also shrunk so much since the old days, but I think that’s pretty universal.”

The Victorian missionary and explorer David Livingstone spent a year living near the church in Stanley Place in 1838, learning to be a missionary, before he travelled to Africa and became known for discovering the source of the Nile and naming the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

There will be a chance to discover more about its history during an open weekend on May 19 and 20, which is being held as part of the anniversary celebrations.

Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Twitter