Business South December 2022

98 | COMMUNITY St Mary’s Catholic Church: Pleasant Point New St Mary’s Church Kim Newth New church an exciting milestone The new St Mary’s Church in Pleasant Point. The opening of the new St Mary’s Church in Pleasant Point on 8th October marked the end of a long journey for local parishioners and the start of a whole new chapter. All pews were full for the church dedication by Christchurch Bishop Michael Gielen. It was a day of celebration and reflection for parishioners. The original St Mary’s Church, which opened in 1889, had been closed to parishioners for 10 years following the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake. Deemed structurally unsafe and too expensive to strengthen/upgrade, it was finally demolished in July 2021. Over that time, parishioners had been sharing a hall space – the Kerry Hall – with St Joseph’s Primary School. “While we were able to have mass and liturgies there, it’s not quite the same as having a church and the space was much smaller,” says Parish Chair Paddy O’Reilly. “For those of us who have been involved in this journey, the opening of the new church has been very rewarding. It has been well-received by the wider community and diocese – it’s pretty exciting to have this nice building, providing a gentle space for quiet reflection.” On an elevated site, the new St Mary’s is undoubtedly set to become a landmark building in Pleasant Point, just as the old church was before it. Desmond Prisk, of Timaru’s Desmond Prisk Architects, designed the beautiful new church. The site where the old church stood is now part of the school playground area while the new church has been built on an adjacent area, formerly occupied by school tennis courts. The old church lives on in the new. Features of the previous building installed in the new church include three stained-glass windows, the alter, the tabernacle, statues and pews. “We have even retained vestry furniture from the old church. A lot of care was taken to remove, save, repair and refurbish the old stained-glass windows, which are quite unique. Members of the community repaired, cleaned and re-stained the pews and have given them a whole new lease of life.” The opening of the new church ensures the historic connection with St Joseph’s Primary School will continue to be supported well into the future. Pleasant Point is part of the St Mary Mackillop Parish, Opihi, which includes churches in Temuka and Geraldine. The new St Mary’s Church cost $1.073 million and has been generously supported with community fundraising and pledges. The cost has been fully met, meaning the parish only needs to meet running costs now that the church is open. “I’ve been quite blown away by the support we’ve had, as we have also been fundraising for the repair and earthquake strengthening of St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Temuka that needs nearly $2.5 million spent on it. The diocese pays a portion and some is covered by insurance; we are paying a portion too - I’m thrilled at how much the community has been behind us.” The 140-year-old Temuka church needs a new spire (after the original was damaged in the earthquakes), along with an interior revamp to bring the church in line with modern standards. “The new steeple will be much lighter than the original one that weighed around 120 tonnes; the new one, made of fibreglass attached to a metal frame, will only weigh around 15 tonnes.” Timaru Construction built the new St Mary’s Church in Pleasant Point, with the work completed over eight or nine months this year. It is the third the Christchurch diocese has rebuilt following the Canterbury earthquakes. “What everyone loves about this new building is that it feels like a church. It’s a simple building that’s peaceful and uplifting.” menzies.group@xtra.co.nz PO Box 166, Timaru 7910 | Phone 03 684 8440 Proud to be associated with Aorangi Homes 0800 102 324 Proud to be associated with St. Mary’s Catholic Church Winners at the 2022 NZ Master Painters Awards P andW Painters are proud to be associated with Timaru Construction on this project. Specialising in the manufacture and installation of Structural Steel from a house beam to a large commercial project Call for a quote T 021 303 898 E jonathon@fitzgeraldsteel.co.nz Proud to support St Mary’s Catholic Church Talk to us today, the feature profile experts Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz PROFILE YOUR PROJECT...

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