How often do you seek a church building “converted” to other uses? Quite often, unfortunately. How often do you see one become a church again? Not often, but here’s a story of one which came back.
St Paul’s has stood since 1916 in Station Street, Fairfield, a suburb that the River Yarra wriggles around, about 6km from the city centre. It is unmistakably a church built out of Red Brick with a pitched roof and pointed-arched windows. Except for the last decade when it was mostly a Yoga studio, with a small prayer meeting on Sundays, pre-covid.
Its parish (local church community) had merged with churches in neighbouring inner city suburbs Northcote and Thornbury.
But this year things changed, with a “radically generous offer” to a relative newcomer, Merri Creek Anglican. Those words of appreciation belong to Peter Carolane, Senior Minister of Merri Creek, a church plant itself.
“On July 24, Merri Creek Anglican opened their second congregation at St Paul’s Fairfield,” Carolane tells the Other Cheek. “This was a plant of Merri Creek sent out from its first congregation (which was planted in Clifton Hill back in December 2013). The plant was led by me, with a staff team of Rev. Patrick Senn who became the Fairfield congregation minister, and Emma Payne (our Worship and Events Pastor) who came on staff in 2022.”
Merri Creek, like another church, City on a Hill, have “been amazing Church Planting Churches in the Diocese of Melbourne,” says Julie-anne Laird, the Canon (leader) for Church Planting in that diocese. “They’ve both planted Churches and have planted/ are planting again.”
Carolane oversaw a $200,000 renovation of the building, talking to the Diocese – with a co-operative Bishop, Genieve Blackwell, running a serious of meeting with Merri Creek and South Darebin, the parish that generously relinquished the church in Fairfield. He led the team and fostered the vision.
“Patrick was responsible for the people – forming a planting congregation, meeting up with people at the Clifton Hill congregation who wanted to come,” says Carolane. Emma’s had responsibility for the practical details of setting up the church so that it was ready to launch.”
Care was taken for the people who did not make the move. “A key part of this process also was the leadership of the Clifton Hill congregation who would remain after the plant. Rev Beck Miller became the congregation leader at Clifton Hill, and she has led the congregation through a process of renewal.”
And the re-born, re-repurposed St Paul’s (now Merri Creek Anglican Fairfield) is off to a solid – no, better than that, good start. “We’ve currently been running service for about two and a half months. We’re averaging about 60 on a Sunday which includes about 20 kids. We’ve been really pleased that people have joined us from the local community. Some who have walked in off the street on a Sunday morning while doing their shopping!
“As the senior minister, the thing that I have noticed over both congregations is that this planting process has increased our overall weekly attendance by 50% which is a dramatic turnaround after the post-Covid drop in numbers. As a whole church we are now significantly larger than we were pre-Covid! We have just started running an Alpha program at Fairfield, and are looking forward to further outreach opportunities to the local community this year.”