What does one do with a church, when the people are no longer coming?
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With only five to – on a good week – 20 people attending services held once a month, the future of St James Anglican Church at Bungwahl is in question.
Built back in 1884 after Bungwahl’s prominent mill owner, Alexander Croll gifted the land to the Anglican church, the timber building was once a strong feature within a bustling village community.
“He could see the need for a church in the community and he donated land and building supplies to the church,” regular church goer and local resident Peter Arnett, said.
“Back then Bungwahl was bigger than Forster, it had shops, pubs… but time went on and the situation changed.”
With a capacity for approximately 85 people, its options are limited and it has no church hall to keep the residents flocking in.
But emotions run high when history is at stake.
“The church parish are not forthcoming with their plans although they have had the church property surveyed which is usually done with the intention to sell,” a crowd funding campaign on Go Fund Me states, referring to the diocese “robbing communities of heritage and history”.
The Great Lakes Historical Society’s president Helen Duggan added that it would “hate to see anything major happen to it” due to its integral role within the community since the 1800s.
“Like a lot of the areas around here all our heritage is been knocked down.”
The church is among eight churches, rectory buildings and cemeteries recommended for local heritage listing as part of MidCoast Council’s Heritage Review Study.
But Bungwahl’s church was in need of some large repairs which included re-stumping the building and repairing one side which is on a lean.
A spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle said that St James’ “relies on the generosity of parishioners and the cost of maintaining buildings has become challenging for the parish.”
“A proposal to close a church building begins in a parish where the parish council is charged with the responsibility off finding the best ways of responding to the mission and ministry needs of the parish. There is an extensive procedure in place regarding changes to parish property which involves consultation at several levels. The final decision about the closure of a church rests with the Diocese,” the spokesperson said.
She added the Diocese used a transparent process for selling property and that the majority of the proceeds of the sale of a church building remain with the local parish.
A community meeting will be held on Saturday, 11.30am at the church. Written comments to Archdeacon Les Forester. Phone 6555 4200.
