A café which tackles rural isolation in Oxenhope has marked its first anniversary with a celebration party this week. 
Some 25 people now attend the Oxenhope Community Café, which has quickly become an established part of local community life.
Sam Mawer, a volunteers at the café said: “The café attracts all ages, with toddlers and people in their 90s all coming together.
“This project is about building friendships for all and is making a big difference to the lives of people who may otherwise lack opportunities to talk and meet with others regularly.
“We have the support of the village Co-op store who allow us £10 of goods fortnightly.
“That may not sound much but it keeps us stocked in tea, coffee, biscuits, cakes and ice creams in the summer and means that we can operate on a ‘donations only if able and wish to’ basis.”
The Oxenhope Community Café is one of four pilot projects being ran in Yorkshire that have been supported by the Rank Arthur Centre, the Church of England and the Methodist Church to help connect people naturally and sustainably. 
The project is part of a trial that could see rural churches across the county playing a wider role in their community.
Germinate, the Arthur Rank Centre, helps rural communities flourish by working alongside local churches across the UK.
The trial from the four churches in Yorkshire will run until the end of the year when the Arthur Rank Centre and the various churches will see the results and consider how to roll the project out nationwide.