24.09.2018
Vision and Persistence Bears Fruit as Kilternan Centre Opens
A new chapter in the life of Kilternan Parish began on Sunday morning (September 23) with the opening of the new Kilternan Centre. Designed to be a hub of the parish and the community the magnificent new building was dedicated by Archbishop Michael Jackson in the presence of a huge crowd of parishioners, friends of the parish and community and state representatives, including two government ministers and local councillors.
The opening was the fruit of many years of labour on behalf of the parish and the culmination of persistence and vision for a project which began in the early 1960s when the Rector of the day, the Revd Johnny Fisher, first proposed the construction of a parish centre.
The current Rector, the Revd Rob Clements, said the parishioners of Kilternan and those who had worked on the project over many years, knew the meaning of the word ‘persistence’. But he said persistence without vision was meaningless and said that the vision of the parish was about “building community, strengthening worship and growing in service”. He emphasised the importance of building authentic community and stated that the parish was there to serve the community. As part of the parish’s vision to build community, the new centre includes space for a community café, Gathering Grounds Café.
The small church was packed to capacity for the service for the dedication of the centre. Over 100 people watched from the parish centre where the service was streamed live from the church.
In his sermon, Archbishop Jackson said that for a church to build a facility designed for both parish and community use was wonderful. “It recognises that a parish is part of a community and a community gives energy to the life of a parish. The parish is that which lies alongside the house, the House of God. The parish has a great connection with the activity and the worship of the church and so the work and the life of God, through God’s people, flows into the life and work of the community. It is the duty of the people of the parish to know what they are talking about, what they are doing and why they are doing it in God’s name. The community cannot be expected to have ready–made the same values and purposes as the parish. But you now have a most attractive place where both can meet and each can meet,” he stated.
He said that the hall would be a place of meeting and gathering, friendship and conversation and a place of safety and relationships.
At the end of the service members of the parish carried four objects from the church to the Kilternan Centre: a Bible as a symbol of good news, a rock as a reminder that Christ is the rock on which the church is built, a candle as a reminder of the Christ light within us and our mission to be the light of the world, and an apron as a reminder of the call to service.
Speaking in the new parish centre, architect and parishioner Stephen Newell detailed the construction of the centre which comprises two main elements: the refurbished parish hall and the new building. He thanked the select vestries over the years for their support and said there had been a great team at the helm to bring the project to fruition. Rob Clements paid special tribute to Stephen for the many hours he spent on the project.
Secretary of the Select Vestry, Johnny Holt, said the parish had undertaken a long and agonising journey to get to the opening day and there had been many ups and downs with successive Rectors leading the way. He thanked both the building committee and the finance committee for their commitment to the build.
You can read Archbishop Jackson’s sermon in full here