A new superintendent minister has joined the Airedale Methodist Circuit.

The Reverend Ruth Crompton was officially welcomed during a service at Silsden Methodist Church on Friday.

More than 200 people attended, and the preacher was West Yorkshire Methodist District chairman, Rev Dr Roger Walton.

Mrs Crompton – who has moved to this area with her husband, Gerald, from Beverley – will have care of 19 churches, covering an area from Cowling to Bingley and Eldwick and with a membership of nearly 900. She joined the Methodist ministry 12 years ago after more than two decades in nursing.

“My family originate from this area of Yorkshire, so to come and serve God in this beautiful part of the world is an honour and gives me a sense of ‘coming home’,” Mrs Crompton added.