A time to build

In the life of every church there comes a time when it is necessary to make a great effort to build or redevelop church property. In the past our forebears built the first church on this site. It was designed by the famous architect, Edmund Blacket, to seat about 150 people and was consecrated in 1874. By 1883 it was generally believed that the church was too small and the Rev Stanley Howard began a movement to build a new church that could seat over 300 people.

The decision was taken to knock down the old church which was less than 15 years old and the present church of St Simon and St Jude was completed in 1887. Previous generations of parishioners have certainly made a great effort to provide suitable buildings to encourage the ministry of our church. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Now the leaders of our church believe the time has come to take the next big step to redevelop the church site. We do not propose to alter the old church building, other than to connect it to the new development so that people can move between the church and halls through a convenient, internal entrance.

The main goal is to redevelop the complex of church halls. In peak periods the church halls are too small to house the numbers of people who need to use them.

They certainly do not make it easy to conduct two or more functions at the same time -- something that is increasingly necessary. They do not cater well for the two growing services that meet in the main hall and they are inadequate to house the youth and children's ministries that meet at the same time. The access to the halls is difficult for the aged or disabled. Toilet and kitchen facilities are cramped and inadequate. There is little space for a proper church office.

Also ,access for the public is hard to identify from Bendooley Street. These buildings have served us well in the past, but are now inadequate to meet the ministry needs of our parish. It is important that we do not surrender the initiative in ministry to inadequate buildings. That is why we are proposing the kind of redevelopment described here.

This will be a costly exercise.  It is impossible to give exact costs at this early stage of planning, but the preliminary estimate would be in the vicinity of $2.5 - 3 million.  To make this project a reality will involve a major fundraising campaign.  Church leaders are in the process of establishing a tax deductible building fund which will make it easier for people to donate to our fundraising campaign.

We hope that this fund will be established in the first half of this year.  We will also need to consider the sale or development of the large parcel of land at the back of the church car park.  This valuable land could make a major contribution to the fundraising campaign.  To meet this financial challenge will require a great commitment and we must not underestimate the effort that we will all need to make.

This is an exciting and challenging time in the life of our church.  We want to be an authentic and effective Christian community at the heart of the wider community. We want to be a lively and active church.

• Tax deductible donations can now be made toward the cost of the redevelopment program.

• Cheques for donations should be made payable to: The St Jude's Christian Education Centre Building Fund.

• Donations can be posted, placed in the Offertory, or left at the church office.

• Please include your name and address to enable an official receipt to be issued.