St Andrew’s Uniting Church members Anne Le Fevre, Lexie Young, John Phelps, and Ken Le Fevre prepare for the church’s last service. Photo courtesy of The Examiner
After 160 years of serving the spiritual needs of parishioners in the Meander Valley the St Andrew’s Uniting Church at Deloraine officially closed its doors with a final service last Sunday.
The first Methodist Church in Deloraine was built in 1857, with the Methodists and Presbyterians joining on the Methodist site 40 years ago when the Uniting Church was established.
Congregation chair John Phelps said the congregation had diminished in size in recent years and members had decided to close the church.
Mr Phelps said some worshippers would attend other churches in the town and some would join other Uniting Church congregations.
Meanwhile, the Church’s newly-established South Esk Cluster in northern Tasmania – made up of the Evandale, Hadspen and Launceston South congregations – is on the look out for a new home in the city.
The Cluster has decided to sell two Launceston church properties located at Balfour St and Chant St, East Launceston to fund a move to a new building which will be designed to meet their future missional plans.
As part of the planned Balfour St sale the Uniting Church’s presbytery office, in the manse on Margaret St, will be relocated to a new site within Launceston.
Acting synod liaison minister Michelle Cook said the new home would be within the environs of Launceston.
It was incorrectly reported in The Examiner newspaper last week that the Hadspen and Evandale congregations of South Esk would be closing their doors.
However, both will not only be operating as normal but upgrading their facilities as part of the commitment of the South Esk Uniting Church to these communities.
While it is true the White Hills congregation has chosen to join the Evandale congregation, members remain committed to supporting their local community.
The former Chant St and Balfour St congregations have decided to merge but the services and programs offered by both will continue well into the future, albeit from a different location.
This includes the very popular Crafty Corner, which attracts more than 100 people each week for fellowship and craft activities.
Comments are closed.