The end of a different era.

Yesterday I rode my mobility scooter to Chapman, our next-door suburb for an appointment. My route took me past the building that was All Souls' Church. This is the Church in the life of which our family has participated for most of its history, from its beginnings in the mid 1970's until fairly recently. We became regular members of the 8:00am congregation from when our children were young. It was a very welcoming community to everyone but particularly to residents of the local community. At that time our services were held in Chapman Primary School. Church had to be set up on Saturday afternoon and put away after the late service on Sunday. It was an interesting church experience. We were involved in much of the life of the Church including helping to build a worship room for mid-week services and meetings under the rectory across the road. I became the secretary of Parish Council and a Warden in the late 70's. After I was ordained deacon, we returned to All Souls' in 1991 and I was the Hon. Curate. We were still in the school at that time but the parish was busy raising the necessary finance to build our worship centre which was built and dedicated in 1991. (Photos below.)

I was ordained priest at St Saviour's Cathedral Goulburn 31 years ago this week. I celebrated my first Holy Communion Service at All Souls' on 9 Feb 1992. We were all very much involved in the life of All Soul's, the family in music, liturgy, parish council, and synod, while I was celebrating and preaching often. I did the first Baptism and the first Wedding in the building and many others of both from there on. I also did many funerals along the way. They were all good times serving the community.

In 1994, I left my 'day job' and became Priest -in- charge of the Parish of Tarcutta in Southern NSW. I commuted there for 3 days a week but still kept in touch with what was happening in the life of All Souls'. In 1997 I returned to Canberra full-time to concentrate on my work as a part-time chaplain in the Australian Navy. But I became an associate priest at All Souls' and set up an innovative low-cost counselling service under the auspices of the parish. In 2003, soon after the dreadful January bush fires and upon the departure of the previous rector I did a 5-month honorary locum. This assisted the parish's financial situation significantly. I was also the All Souls' sponsored hon. chaplain to Araluen Retirement Village which was in our neighbourhood. At the end of that year, I realized that I had done everything that I could for the parish and that it was time for me to concentrate on my work as a part time chaplain with the Navy.

In 2010 I returned to do a 6-week locum at All Souls' but I became ill part way into that time and had to relinquish that role.

In 2017 the diocese decided to close All Souls' and combine it with the Parish of St Stephen's in Kambah. This was justified on the basis of viability but I never saw a problem of viability per se. The parish had always been somewhat marginal but less so than many other small community churches in Canberra. The Diocese had made some rather unusual decisions about the parish over the previous years. Despite strong representations from members of the parish the final service was held at the end of 2017. (Probably quite co-incidentally at the time of the decision and throughout the time before the final service was held, I was on leave from ministry in another parish because of the serious illness of my wife. In any case any representations I could have made would have been ignored by the Diocese).

The excellent Parish Centre which had served the community so well and to which so many had devoted so much effort lay idle and deteriorating for the next 4 years. Yesterday it was demolished in just a few hours. It has made way for the construction of a church- based childcare centre. This follows the sale and redevelopment of the rectory which was across the road a couple of years ago.

While the justification for the closure of the parish was its viability the real reasons were much more complex than that. It is no wonder that so many people were left hurt and disillusioned by this process, me among them.

The photos below show the turning of the first sod in early 1991 and the Dedication Service in late 1991.