By KATH GANNAWAY
A FINAL service will be held at the Uniting Church at Yarra Junction on Sunday, following a decision by to sell the building.
A letter to the Mail from a former parishioner lamented the closure, saying there had been a Uniting Church in the Upper Yarra region for 100 years.
The motive behind the closure was questioned.
Anglican Minister Gail Pinchbeck said a decline in people attending the Uniting Church services was behind what was a difficult decision, but one that was initiated and made by the congregation itself.
Rev Pinchbeck said for the past five or six years the Anglican and Uniting Church congregations had worshipped together.
“It had got to a point where a decision had to be made and it’s been a painful time for our people,” she said.
Rev Pinchbeck said a lot of people had put time and effort into maintaining the building over the years, but the congregation could no longer afford to pay for the upkeep of the church or met the minister’s salary.
“Although we are leaving the building, we will still be worshipping together at All Saints in Yarra Junction,” she said.
Uniting Church Synod spokesman Ben Grundy said the process to sell the church was initiated by the congregation due to its inability to meet costs – not by the synod.
“There is of course sadness at the closure of the church, but an understanding that it was simply not financially sustainable,” he said.
Past and present parishioners are invited to attend the final service on Sunday, 9 November, at 3pm.
