Progress on property development and maintenance during 2022 was slow but steady as we continued to make improvements in our sites at St Philips and St Marks.
We try to keep our grounds, buildings and facilities in first class condition for the benefit of everyone and last year we met that responsibility with the help of many dedicated volunteers in our church.
The work completed during the past year included:-
St Philip's Eastwood
- Construction of a new larger stage platform in the War Memorial Hall.
- Installation of energy saving solar panels on the WMH roof
- The completion of the Stage 1A toilet block and access ramp serving the Children’s Ministry Centre, the Sunday School Rooms and the church. This project is the first stage of the final masterplan for the site development as approved in 2020 and has been designed to be connected to the future development which surrounds it.
St Mark's Ermington
- Purchase and Installation of new perimeter safety fencing to part of the site for child safety.
- Significant savings were achieved due to this work being done by volunteers, Chris Stretton and Rod Haywood who are now expert fencers.
- Following receipt of a Government grant, a large new children’s playground with all sorts of equipment was installed for the benefit of the church and local community.
- The Hall interior was reoriented in an East West direction to work better for the morning family service and a new stage was constructed on the western side.
- We were fortunate to receive a donated, used kitchen by former parishioners Ian & Melanie Mayes. This has now been installed by volunteers to replace the old dilapidated kitchen in the St Marks hall and is getting plenty of use. A new hot water unit has also been recently installed at no cost.
- A dangerous low overhead power supply cable and pole to the church was removed and the power relocated underground.
The Church Grounds
Parishioners and others often comment on the quality and appearance of our church grounds and landscaping. This doesn’t happen by chance and is largely due to the initiative, dedication and commitment of our resident Garden Guru, Field Marshall David Smith and his team of assistants. As soon as the new Toilets were completed Dave and his team moved in to lay new grass, remove old trees so the place looks better than ever.
New synthetic turf was laid beside the Sunday School Rooms to house the preschool playing equipment which is getting plenty of use.
We are so thankful for Dave Smith’s work and God’s provision of regular rain again this past summer to make the grass grow and plants mature and we see the results each week in the presentation of our grounds to the community as they walk past.
What's next?
To complete Stage 1 we need to finish sealing of the carpark and construction of the underground rain water detention tank. Detail design and Tender documentation for this work is close to completion and we hope work on site will start later this year so that we will have an “all weather” carpark.
At Ermington there is need for more improvements and renovations to make it more user friendly and comfortable. This work is in the planning stage and we seek God’s guidance as to how these works may be achieved.
Financing
The work carried out in the past year was fully funded from generous donations from our multiple congregations and there are no external loans or debt to be serviced. This puts us in an excellent position to fund future works as the need and resources become available.
We are so very thankful for God’s provision and for the many young and old energetic volunteer helpers who contributed their labour throughout the year. We trust that this will continue throughout 2023.