St Alban’s Anglican Church has just celebrated 150 years since being built and organiser and retired minister Fergus Capie couldn’t be more pleased with how the weekend went. Amongst many parishioners young and old, Saturday’s service was also attended by current Bishop of Nelson, Rt. Revd Richard Ellena, mayor of the Tasman district, Richard Kempthorne, and director of Suter Gallery, Julie Catchpole. “It was a lovely weekend. On Saturday it was standing room only. We had a nice generational balance portrayed with art from the children of Appleby School and photos of Bishop Suter and his wife who donated the church.”
“It was great for the congregation, which has now grown somewhat older, to see a representation of the future of the church with the school children’s involvement.”
Built in 1868 and consecrated by the Bishop of Nelson, the Rt. Revd Andrew Burn Suter, St Alban’s is one of the oldest remaining churches on the Waimea Plains. A typical example of a New Zealand country church of that period, the church has undergone no major alterations since its construction, its originality adding to the charm.
“It is easy for a tiny country church to feel a bit vunerable in this day and age. We have been under the threat of closure in the past. So to have that sense of confidence, of celebrating 150 years, with everyone who attended – it was wonderful.”