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In
1867, the first Wesleyan
Methodist Church was built in
Leet St and the first Primitive
Methodist Church in Don St in
1873 whilst the Strathearn
Primitive Methodist Church was
built in Elles Rd, opening on
6th November 1887.
The
Methodist Church continued to
grow in the 1900's and for many
years the Invercargill Methodist
Parish consisted of six worship
centres, but by the mid 1980's
falling rolls and increasing
maintenance and operating costs
had forced the closure of the
Otatara, Clifton and Newfield
churches and it was becoming
apparent that it would only be a
matter of time before the
viability of the remaining three
churches came into question
In
1994 the decision was made to
amalgamate the remaining three
congegations and work
towards a completely new
building on a new site. To meet
future needs, rather than being
solely a church, this new
building would be a community
centre.
The
first step was to close Central
Methodist Church, with the final
service being held on 19th
February 1995, and the members
then joining with St Mark's.
This combined congregation
worshipped at St Mark's until
February 1996 when it in turn
joined with the people at St
Peter's.
Meanwhile
a considerable amount of
planning and organisation for a
new complex in Lindisfarne St
was underway. Building commenced
in June 1997 and the work was
completed within budget and on
time for the opening ceremonies
on the weekend of November
29/30th 1997.
The
three congregations that
combined to form the Lindisfarne
Methodist Community Centre each
brought their own treasures that
had historical, artistic and
sentimental value. These
included:
ST MARK'S SCULPTURE
The
sculpture depicting Christ carrying the cross, was
made by a local sculptor, Mr B Walsh. It is made
in concrete and was fastened to the St Mark's east
wall. It was dedicated at the opening of the new
St Mark's Church by the Rev A J Johnston, Chairman
of the Otago - Southland Synodal District on
Saturday, April 10th 1965.
THE
STRATHEARN BELL
The
Strathearn Bell dates back to November 1887 when
the Strathearn Primitive Methodist Church was
built. Included in this building was an ornamental
belfry to house a Capital bell donated by Messers.
Luke & Sons Ltd. engineers, shipbuilders and
makers of boilers and cooking ranges in
Wellington. The Strathearn Bell as it became
known, was intended to represent the Methodist
people of all Southland. When the church was
rebuilt in 1918, the bell was housed in the wooden
tower block, and in 1958 the tower was rebuilt in
concrete. The Strathearn bell is now in its third
home, a lychgate housing.
THE
MYERS WINDOW
A
much admired feature of Central Church was its
stained glass windows, widely acknowledged as
masterpieces. Regrettably, as the Lindisfarne
Building is not high enough to house the Froggatt
and Wesney windows, it was possible to bring only
the smaller south wall Myers window depicting John
Wesley. It was presented by Mrs B Myers and her
daughter Mrs B Holst in 1936.
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