By Nick Thompson
Father Kevin Lewis described it as “a melancholy day for all of us.”
After 95 years of service, St Luke’s Anglican Church in Kin Kin has been officially de-consecrated and is now an historic country building rather than a formal place of worship.
One of the oldest churches in Noosa Shire, St Luke’s opened on November 19, 1926 with a dedication ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Gerald Sharp.
That service was attended by what the Brisbane Courier reported as “a remarkable gathering of over 300 persons, representatives of all creeds being in attendance.“
Last Saturday’s formal service of thanksgiving and closure was attended by barely two dozen parishioners and officials – a reflection of the changes in society.
Bishop Jeremy Greaves, who conducted the 2021 service said it shared elements of a funeral with people saying goodbye and recalling their memories of the place and its past.
As Bishop of the Northern Region of the Brisbane Diocese, he has had to conduct five similar closures in the past five years, each time with a heavy heart.
The decision to close St Luke’s, which suffered extensive storm damage requiring major repairs as recently as 1985, had been especially painful.
It became apparent during discussions that today’s parishioners were scared they might be letting down all those who had worked to fundraise, build, maintain and care for the church during its life.
But times, he admitted, have changed.
While St Luke’s was a church that met the needs of the community when it was built, more than 70 per cent of Australians now say that religion is not personally important to them.
Bishop Jeremy urged the congregation to look to the future and face the challenges. “We need to be a church that listens to this new world in which we find ourselves,” he said.
After the formal ceremony, the congregation and church officials gathered for a re-creation of the photo taken on the church steps when it was dedicated in November 1926.
Two contrasts became immediately apparent.
Surprisingly, while everyone looked rather glum at the opening, they were all smiling at the farewell. And in 1926 nearly everyone sported a hat while in 2021 the only headgear in sight was the bishop’s mitre.
The de-consecration of St Luke’s as a place of worship marks the end of a significant chapter in Kin Kin’s history. The hinterland town once had three churches (Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist/Uniting) but now, like many other small country towns, it finds itself with none.
This, Archbishop Gerald Sharp warned in the church’s first sermon back in 1926, is a situation that could lead to people “drifting back to paganism”.
But in 2021 the people of Kin Kin seem to be more concerned about what will happen to the simple but elegant timber building and its gardens in the days ahead.
Anglican authorities say there are no immediate plans to put the property up for sale. A number of prospective tenants have inquired about leasing the main hall and annex and the hope is that someone will take them over with community services in mind.
Father Kevin, currently locum priest in the Cooroora parish, would like to see the building become a hub for arts and crafts workshops or for training in areas like cookery and hospitality.
This would still allow religious services to be held from time to time.
