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IT will be a summer of celebration as a community marks 150 years of the landmark Matfen Spire.

All of the stops are being pulled out for the occasion with a series of events officially launched at the weekend.

The Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Rev Martin Wharton, attended the festivities at Holy Trinity Church in Matfen, near Hexham, Northumberland, yesterday for a special service of Choral Evensong.

The musical service was the first in a string of events planned over the coming months to celebrate the spire standing tall for 150 years.

The anniversary marks the end of a year of restoration work at the church which cost £42,000.

And there could be plenty of both at one Northumberland church over the coming weeks after it announced plans to show England's World Cup matches in a bid to get footie fans into its pews.

Trinity Methodist Church at Hexham will be showing games on a big screen, taking the opportunity to also hold a number of World Cup-themed services and also to raise money for a charity in South Africa, where the tournament is being staged.

The Tynedale Green Energy Fair, organised by Transition Tynedale and Tynedale Greenpeace, will give people more information on eco living.

Suppliers of biomass boilers, photovoltaic panels and wind turbines will be on site along with the Energy Saving Trust.

The event takes place Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Hexham on Saturday May 15th from 10am to 4pm.

The Hexham Debates were founded in 2007 by the Hexham Quaker Meeting and attracts audiences of between 100 and 250. It is currently in its third series with further debates planned for early 2010.

All debates take place on Saturdays from 11am to 12.30pm at St Mary's Centre, St Mary's RC Church, Hencotes. The first is on January 16 on the subject 'Britain and Afghanistan: is it worth it? Is it winnable?'

In Hexham, soldiers from 39 Regiment Royal Artillery will be marching through the town from 10.15am, as they celebrate their Freedom of the Town.

Some 100 soldiers will make up the march in addition to servicemen from the Royal Navy and TA, and the parade will be followed by a memorial at Fusilier Gate and a service at Hexham Abbey.

Full details of Remembrance Day events around the region »

The former British Telecom engineer joined his parish church choir on October 1, 1939, aged eight, when it boasted an ensemble of 36 choristers.

But numbers have dwindled since then, and since 1977 his has been the sole voice raised to the heavens.

Nearly 700 people were inside Hexham Abbey yesterday for the funeral of Geoffrey and Victoria Wilkinson, of Kirkwhelpington, who were killed in the tragedy at Kielder Water earlier this month.

Jack Wilkinson, Geoffrey's son and Victoria's brother, paid his own tribute, describing their special, close, father-daughter relationship and adding "they are still keeping each other excellent company".

Cappella Novocastriensis will play at St Cuthbert's Church, Norham, on June 13 from 8pm and at Holy Cross Church, Haltwhistle, on June 14 from 8pm. Tickets are available from Windows music store in Newcastle, at the door, or on the internet at www.wegottickets.com online.

Meanwhile, Newcastle Bach Choir is singing in Hexham Abbey on June 20, from 7.30pm and tickets are available from Newcastle tourist information centre, JG Windows and Hexham Abbey Shop.

He will visit eight churches en route - Hexham Abbey, St Andrew's in Corbridge, St James' in Riding Mill, St Peter's in Bywell, St Mary's in Ovingham, St Mary Magdalene in Prudhoe, St Oswin's in Wylam and St Michael's and All Angels in Newburn.

A ground-floor window at St Aidan's in Hencotes, was broken sometime between 12pm on Sunday and 6.15pm on Tuesday.

The window was broken by a stone and the cost of repair will amount to around £150.

The Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham was installed as Bishop in a two-hour service at St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Newcastle.

He was honoured by the most senior Catholic leaders from across the UK, including the Archbishop of Westminster and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

Often regarded as the most popular saint of medieval times and one of the most important, March 20 sees people celebrate the anniversary of the death of the region's own patron saint.

Pilgrims make their way across the causeway to Holy Island on Good Friday, 2006

Born in 634 AD, Cuthbert was born in the Lammermuir Region where he grew to work as a young shepherd.

Money will be raised for two local charities supporting disabled and terminally ill children and adults.

Robson's Choice will perform at the event, in West End Methodist Church, Hexham on Tuesday, from 7.30pm.

Tom McConville, who was recently crowned Musician of the Year at the BBC Folk Awards, will be at Hexham Community Church on Saturday for an evening of traditional and original Scottish, Irish and English music and song.

Tyneside-born Tom, also known as the Newcastle Fiddler, is a renowned figure on the folk scene and has recently had some of his music broadcast on BBC Radio 2.