| 103 Mahurangi Presbyterian Church – Community Centre COMMUNITY New church embraces growth The new Mahurangi Presbyterian Church will include a multi-purpose space capable of holding 350 people, a commercial kitchen and café and provide a mini chapel, office and meeting space for the 20 staff employed by the church. Driven by a desire to further outreach and engage in the community Mahurangi Presbyterian Church in Warkworth has long been planning and looking forward to relocating into a brand new, purpose-built facility. Pastor Nick McLennan has been serving the congregation and community for 14 years and says the project is one full of possibilities and positivity. “Before I was here, the congregation were looking at the idea of a new centre as it started to grow its community ministries. They knew the existing chapel and building were not suitable for this growth.” Mahurangi Presbyterian Church has a long and proud history serving the community, one that stretches back over 160 years. At that time the church had been instrumental in helping establish the local school and public library. Recently, as the church has embraced further community engagement and delivery of support and services to a wider cohort it became clear new premises, with a larger footprint and capable of being used in multi-purpose ways was needed. Fundraising began in earnest about eight years ago, followed by an opportunity six years ago to obtain a piece of land from a developer at the time who needed to sell it. “Land of any good size was very difficult to find in the town, so when this opportunity presented we took it up. With land in place, this gave the project an impetus and with a great deal of community support finding the funds was underway.” Nick says the church has been fortunate Sue Russell to have many community members with the skills to undertake a lot of the planning in-house. Stage 1 of the project has been consented in two phases with the first consent to get the building closed in. The building’s design and construction has been heavily supported by the congregation which meant that it is being delivered in the most cost-effective way. Even with this, the budget extends to $ 10.1 million and Nick says by July 2021 85% of the funding had been sourced by capital campaign fundraising efforts with the remaining balance secured by a loan. “Building has gone surprisingly smoothly with a substantial amount of precast concrete and steel members. Once phase 1 is completed phase 2 will commence with the internal fit-out.” The new church centre will embrace a multi-purpose space capable of holding 350 people, a commercial kitchen and café and provide a mini chapel, important office and meeting space for the 20 staff employed by the church. “It will certainly be a good thing when all our team can work out of the same building. Icing on the cake will be completion of the auditorium, a later stage, which has been designed to seat 450 people. Asked what will become of the existing wooden chapel Nick says the plan is to sell the building. Commenting on the significance of this centre Nick says it will be far-reaching. “Our church is more and more engaged in social development within the community and in meeting the needs of children and youth. It will be a valuable resource for the wider community, a place for people to be. The centre will be a place for our Pacific Island community to gather.” All going according to plan the new centre will be formally blessed and opened Easter 2023. “It will be a time of much celebration for this community. We have had tremendous support from within our congregation and from other community groups who can see the benefits such a centre will provide.” Call us to discuss your next project 0800 425 7116 24 Morrison Drive, Warkworth | www.itsseng.nz ITSS Engineering is proud to be part of the Mahurangi Church Project We offer Fabrication & Machining for all industries: • Heavy Steel Fabrication • Aluminium & Stainless • Tailored Truck Building • Structures & Sculptures • CNC & Manual Machining • Sheetmetal Works • Blast & Painting • Cranes & Hiabs • Hydraulic Services • CAD/CAM drafting BUI LDING & INTERIORS / SITE WORX / PROPERTY SERVICES Consult. Construct. Complete. Exceptional workmanship and customer service through a dedicated and experienced team. jacobsonprojects.co.nz JACOBSON PROJECTS All plumbing & drain laying service • Septic & water tanks Drain repair & Blockages • Hot water replacements • Solar All Plumbing Maintenance 027 481 1127 • jason.wech@gmail.com Warworth Omaha Area Proud to support Mahurangi Church
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