Close of an era for St Alban’s Parkham
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APRIL 2015 | ROGER HESKETH
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A FEW WEEKS ago the Anglican Church at Parkham saw a large congregation gather for a final Service, marking the end of 107 years of the building’s use as a place of worship.
The congregation included many who traced their connections with St Alban’s back to the founding members. Some came from as far away as the mainland especially for the event. A booklet of ‘Reflections and Memories’ handed out on the day noted, “For Christians, a church’s closure – often the focal landmark of a country community – is an emotional event. Here, people have worshipped, felt grief and joy, celebrated Christian rites of passage and quested for a relationship with God”.
In his address, the Reverend Roger Hesketh spoke about the legacy that has been inherited from those whose hard work and foresight could be seen, “not just in these buildings but with a faith that opens up to us a whole new perspective that has a past a present and a future”.
The next step for the church building and hall, both listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register, will be for the Parish of Deloraine to find new owners. The process for this will be guided by Anglican Diocesan legislation and in line with the Heritage Tasmania’s instruction note for “Disposing of Religious Properties.”
Several people have enquired about the future care of some moveable items.
The Parish has asked for anyone who has an interest in a specific item or knows of a donor with a specific interest to notify the Secretary, Anglican Parish of Deloraine, P.O Box 7 Deloraine or anglicandeloraine@gmail.com by April 14th 2015.
