OVER 100 people turned out on Sunday to celebrate a thousand years of worship at the St Mary the Virgin in Strethall.

OVER 100 people turned out on Sunday to celebrate a thousand years of worship at the St Mary the Virgin in Strethall.

The special Harvest Festival service of thanksgiving was led by the Bishop of Colchester, The Rt Revd Christopher Morgan.

The service was the highlight of a series of millennium celebrations – which also included a concert and arts festival – and for the occasion a choir performed a specially written anthem by choral and music composer John Rutter.

Following the service, the congregation enjoyed a buffet lunch and Anglo-Saxon re-enactment.