The Rangiora Presbyterian Parish Minister Rev Jason King spoke at an Ashley Rangiora Community Board meeting recently to keep it and the Waimakariri District Council updated on how the development of the area, previously occupied by a church until 2014, was progressing.
The original John Knox Presbyterian Church, which opened on September 28, 1922, would have been celebrating its 101st birthday this year.
But it was demolished in 2014.
Post-Christchurch earthquake, the church had been classified as an earthquake-prone risk, and the congregation moved next door to use the John Knox Centre for services.
‘‘Because the old church wasn’t actually earthquake-damaged we had no insurance payout, so we have had to go fundraising both internally and externally in the community. ’’
He said they wanted to rebuild the church as a more community-focused building.
‘‘We demolished the building, and in 2015 the parish set up a building committee to investigate a number of different ideas for the space.
‘‘We looked at how it was going to work for us and for the community.’’
Reverend King said they recently received resource consent from the Waimakariri District Council and with a little bit of luck they will get building consent soon and might start building a multi-use open space church in January next year.
‘‘We want to transform the idea of a church to make it more open for connections with the community, have more space for an admin hub, a parenting room and new toilets.
‘‘The new auditorium will seat 240 people, which is similar in capacity to the old church, but will now be housed in a building that is much easier to configure depending on what it’s used for.’’
Reverend King said they want to make it more accessible for everyone in the community and to also have a new greenspace outside for people to enjoy.
It is planned for the greenspace to have seating areas, grass and allows people to connect with the historical heritage of the site.
‘‘It’s been 12 years in the making, and hopefully, all going to plan, it may be completed by May 2025.’’
