Sunday 16 February 2014

IVANHOE BAPTIST CHURCH

The Ivanhoe Baptist Church is situated at 1 Livingstone Street, Ivanhoe, 3079, Victoria.
From "The Argus" newspaper article, Monday 27 July 1925:

"The new Baptist church at Ivanhoe was opened on Saturday afternoon by Mr I Bethell, the senior deacon. The dedication service was conducted by the Rev. T. P. Trinham (pastor). The Rev. F J. Wilkin offered the dedication prayer, whilst the Rev. W. M. Uartwright was the preacher. The services were continued on Sunday, when Dr. Wilkin preached in the morning and the Rev W. D. Jackson in the afternoon. At night the preacher was the Rev. W. H. Holdsworth, principal of the Baptist College. All services were attended by huge congregations. On Tuesday night a special service will be held, at which Mr. F. P. Morris, president of the Baptist Union of Victoria, will preside, and the Rev. I. E. Tranter will be the close speaker."

The most active period in the life of the church was during the 1950′s when Rev Tom Keat was pastor and the church was full to bursting and active in ministry. Like many churches after the 1950′s Ivanhoe Baptist began a steady decline in numbers. The call to become a church that is actively engaged in the life of the local community became more clear in the 1990′s and by 1998 the church had sold some property and used the proceeds to convert their old church building into a bright new Neighbourhood House.

The church articulated this new direction by calling itself "A Church for the Community". The Livingstone Community Centre has become a vibrant and well used community facility that promotes physical, mental and spiritual health. The church today is a diverse group of people from many different ethnic and faith backgrounds. It is again growing in number and welcomes everyone, affirming where they are on the journey of faith and inviting them to continue the journey with the Ivanhoe Baptist community. Rev Debbie Campbell is presently the Pastor and Rev Litha Heshusius is Assistant Pastor.

This post is part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.






4 comments:

  1. To be inspired really knows no religion for we worship the same God afterall. Great collection of photos here :)

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  2. i enjoy the steeple or cap ... what a beauty. i enjoy the history. ( :

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  3. In some ways, this church looks newer than it actually is. Nice copper cladding on the spire. It is interesting to «Louis» that the decline in the church, being as it is in Australia, mirrors the decline in the same time frame as many churches in the U.S.

    «Louis» posted historic First Presbyterian, Napa, CA.

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