By Meg Kennedy<\/p>\n
The congregation of a local church should be celebrating its 160th anniversary but are instead, protesting the church\u2019s abrupt sale.
\nThe community of Pentland Hills Uniting Church in Myrniong has rallied to save the historic church from changing hands.
\nThe church and hall closed their doors in December and are both currently up for sale \u2013 but according to the congregation, church users weren\u2019t notified of the decision.
\nA statement from members of the Pentland Hills congregation read \u201cThe Uniting Church of Victoria has evicted the congregation, closing the church and our hall.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is now selling the church with very little process or consultation with us,\u201d read the statement.
\nThe site is currently listed on a real estate website with a sale price of $450,000 to $495,000.
\nThe webpage reads the property \u2018is for sale in its current state of repair with vacant possession\u2019.
\nThe church building was deemed unsafe in December last year, following a Building Order by Moorabool Shire Council.
\nThe congregation said it was \u201cin the process of sourcing funding\u201d to complete the repair works before the Uniting Church\u2019s decision to sell.
\nAccording to guidelines from the Uniting Church website, members of the church are responsible for care and upkeep of the property; but decision to buy or sell properties, the Synod or congregation need to engage with the Property Trust.
\nThe congregation said it has only been able to recover \u201ca small amount of our goods and equipment from the two buildings.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s like losing a friend,\u201d congregation member Emma Muir told the Moorabool News.
\nMs Muir has spread awareness of the church\u2019s sale in recent weeks, including an interview on ABC Radio Ballarat.
\n\u201cWe just feel that it\u2019s all been taken out of our hands too quickly\u2026it\u2019s terribly sad that our little community is losing not only our church, but also our hall,\u201d said Ms Muir.
\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t had a chance to grieve or say goodbye.\u201d
\nThe church is listed on the Victorian Heritage Database as holding \u2018local historical significance for its association with the religious development of community life\u2019.
\nThe adjoining hall is used to host a senior\u2019s luncheon twice a month, as well as by the local Landcare group, playgroup, and for other community functions.
\n\u201cWe felt very in the dark about it, and we felt sad that we couldn\u2019t celebrate the 160-years of the church\u2026we\u2019ve never really had a chance to acknowledge it at all,\u201d said Ms Muir.
\nA spokesperson from Uniting Church told the Moorabool News in a statement that \u201cthe decision was made to sell Pentland Hills Uniting Church last December, after the Moorabool Shire and an expert structural engineer reported the building to be unsafe.\u201d
\n\u201cThe estimated cost to properly restore the building for use is far beyond the financial capacity of the small congregation,\u201d the spokesperson said.
\n\u201cThe congregation has been continually informed, and since December has been advised that selling the building is the only viable solution to comply with the Building Order and allow the building to function.\u201d
\nThe Uniting Church also confirmed there have been \u201csome interested parties\u201d who have shown an interest in restoring the building, which it said \u201cwould be the desired outcome by the Church.\u201d
\nAs for the future, Ms Muir said \u201cthere\u2019s two parts\u201d for the next step.
\n\u201cEither we need to keep fighting\u2026and possibly get some serious money to fund either legal action, or a structural engineer to know what we have to do [for the repairs],\u201d she said.
\n\u201cOr, we look at grieving and saying goodbye to the church, and think about where else we\u2019re going to worship, where else we\u2019re going to have our events, because we won\u2019t have that church anymore.\u201d
\nThe Pentland Hills Uniting Church congregation is open to assistance from members of the public and can be contacted via email – pentlandhills1859@gmail.com.
\nMessages can be left on the church office phone number in Bacchus Marsh at 5367 2543.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Meg Kennedy The congregation of a local church should be celebrating its 160th anniversary but are instead, protesting the church\u2019s abrupt sale. The community of Pentland Hills Uniting Church in Myrniong has rallied to save the historic church from changing hands. The church and hall closed their doors in December and are both currently […]<\/p>\n