A village church will be holding its final service before closing for the last time on Christmas Eve.
Members of Barnby Methodist Church, near Beccles, which has been threatened by closure for the past year, will gather for the final time at a Christingle service joined by residents and friends.
But despite the emotional occasion, members have vowed to go out with a bang and have held a number of farewell Christmas parties and coffee mornings.
A spokesman from the church said: 'We all wanted to make these last few months as special as possible for everyone and really go out with a bang because of the friends we have built here and the work that has been done.
'It has always been such a big part of the village, and it's such a comfortable, safe place to meet. I am very sad to see it go.'
The current methodist church building was built as a village hall on land next to the chapel, but became a combined church and meeting place in 1992 when parishioners were forced to demolish the chapel after facing a huge renovation bill.
The decision to close the church was made due to the falling number of members.
An open village meeting was held in January, when members of the community were invited to have their say on the future of the building.
They were then given six months to see if they could get more people interested in helping out and visiting the church; however, numbers failed to improve.
The spokesman said: 'It was a very difficult decision to make and we gave it a lot of thought.
'It's hard because the building is not just used for worship, there are a lot of groups that use it too.
'But it was decided that we should seek permission from the circuit to cease as a worshipping community.
'The number of church members had dwindled and we haven't got enough people in roles to carry on looking after the building because a lot of our members have aged or passed away.'
Three Sunday services were held each month at the methodist church, including an event called Cafe Church, which is an alternative type of worship for all ages.
The building was also used on a weekly basis by a mother-and-toddler group, a yoga and chair yoga group, an indoor bowls group, and for coffee mornings and a monthly meal.
Most of the groups have been relocated to Fortrey Heap Village Hall, in nearby North Cove, or to Kessingland.
It is believed the building will be put up for sale.
As well as the final Christingle service, members also hosted a farewell Christmas party for elderly residents on December 10, followed by their last Christmas coffee morning on December 18.
Do you have a church story? Email ian.clarke@archant.co.uk
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