Community
25 October, 2024
Last hurrah for Derri’ church
DERRINALLUM’S Uniting Church building will have a “last hurrah” with a final thanksgiving service to be held on Sunday.
The church property committee have been spending the week tidying up the 110-year-old church building for the service, which will begin at 2pm on Sunday, October 27.
Derrinallum Uniting Church property committee chairperson Keith Slee said he had “mixed feelings” about the upcoming service.
“I feel that it’s sad in some ways, but I think it’s time - we can no longer afford to maintain the building with so few people,” he said.
“It’d be good for the building to care for it and maybe use it so some other advantage.
“I certainly feel very sad about it because it has been a place of worship for us since 1978, and we’ve had a lot of friends here - we’re conscious of that.
“Sometimes, things have got to move on.
“There’s no bitterness, it’s just time.”
Originally the Presbyterian Church building, the Uniting Church building at 56 Main Street, the church has seen many generations of Derrinallum families attend services, funerals and weddings since its opening in 1914.
Mr Slee said the service will remember the many generations of residents who attended the church but will also mark the beginning of a new form of worship in the township.
“It will be a time of perhaps sharing experience that we had, but also looking forward as a Christian community to do something else,” he said.
“That’s the important thing – that we are moving on and not having to worry about the time and the money that’s involved in caring for and insuring these buildings.
“We still want to be present in the community and we want to be here for ourselves, our own faith and our own development.
“I know that some people will be very sad about it, but it’s also a time of moving forward and looking for new ways of worshipping.”
An afternoon tea will be held at the Mount Elephant Hotel Motel following the service.
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