A new beginning

There were many problems, with the inside and outside of St Anne‘s Church. Something had to be done.

The church was built in 1975. Nothing had been done since then. It was freezing cold, and the technology was out of date, everything was unsafe and antique looking. Karen Holland, St Anne’s Lay Pastoral Leader thought something must be done. So she thought of an idea. “Maybe we should do a refurbishment on the church, since it has looked like this for many years.”

All the members of the church agreed and work began to update St Anne’s Church. We had many volunteers, especially from the Samoan community. They were at the core of it, helping and working hard. Many gifts were received, like money and time. For the cost of everything, it was $142,000. We finished the renovations under budget. Karen says, “it’s like we’ve come home, and it’s a very special place.”

She also said, “Worshiping the Lord in the hall, was different from worshiping in the church, but still a beautiful experience.” Many have said “it was very exciting and busy; people were always buzzing around, and helping.”