CHURCHES in Weymouth and Portland have helped inform residents about the European Union referendum.

REFRESH, Weymouth and Portland churches in action, hosted two events last week featuring speakers from both sides.

Both events also featured an historian, a theologian, and a philosopher.

The first event took place at Emmanuel Church, Southill.

It featured Pauline Crump, a history lecturer at Weymouth College, the Revd Tim Greenslade, and Angus Dawson, who holds a degree in philosophy and economics and works at IPACA. The event was chaired by the Revd Pip Salmon.

Campaigning for an independent Britain was John Petley. David Harris, meanwhile, spoke on behalf of Stronger In.

The following day, an event was held at Easton Methodist Church on Portland, chaired by the Revd Christopher Briggs.

At this event, the Revd James Menzies took the place of the Revd Greenslade.

The Revd Philip Foster spoke on behalf of the Better Out campaign whilst Graham Kelly spoke on behalf of the Stronger In side.

The Revd Anni Douglas, co-ordinator of REFRESH, said: “We believe as a church it is important to engage in every aspect of life.

“It made sense to offer the opportunity for people to hear different sides of the argument of the referendum.

“People hear so much of it on television but they would like to hear it face-to-face from people who care about what is happening, not just the politics.

“We’ve had a very good response.

“We wanted to look at it in terms of what it means to be a community.”

The meeting at Weymouth attracted more than 100 people. One audience member, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I’m a little bit more informed than I was when I came in.”

Michael Scully, from Weymouth, said the talk focused on ‘real people’ and the facts.

He said: “Trying to get politicians to give facts and the truth seems to be.... it’s an outdated concept.”