A week of celebrations has begun at a Moray church to celebrate 200 years since its creation.
St Rufus Church in Keith was opened in 1819 in order to cater for the burgeoning town.
Yesterday a bumper attendance was on the pews in the historic building to usher in the beginning of another century of services.
Keith and District Silver Band were special guests to accompany hymns for the occasion as well as performing tunes from their own repertoire, including Karl Jenkins’ Benedictus, I Will Follow Him, which featured in Sister Act and To a Lass with Golden Hair.
A special embroidered banner that had been made for the occasion was also unveiled.
The church now has a combined membership of 850 after merging with Botriphnie and Grange to form the Kirk of Keith.
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However, the congregation has been without a minister for four years despite the efforts of its nominating committee.
Parishioner Esther Green, who has helped organise the 200th anniversary celebrations, said: “We want to celebrate everything that has gone before but also look forward to the future.
“It’s a challenging time for us because we don’t have a minister to bring people together as a natural figurehead so it’s a good chance to remind people to celebrate what we have.
“We have a lot of very active groups and lots of people working in the background so we have a lot to be thankful for.”
The anniversary celebrations will continue the rest of the week with the church open for visitors from 10am to 4pm from today until Thursday.
An exhibition of photographs and memorabilia including newsletters dating back nearly 100 years has also been assembled.
A recital from church organist Iain Carr will be held on Tuesday evening before a thanksgiving service on Thursday led by Rev Stuart Duff, moderator of the Moray presbytery.
School pupils from the town and nearby villages will be welcomed on Friday before a coffee morning in St Rufus Hall on Saturday morning.
The week of celebrations will then be concluded on Sunday when the Strathisla Pipe Band, which celebrates its centenary this year, will play outside the church for worshippers.
