NEWS
STORIES FROM THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
Among the first ministers there must have been one here in
1880, an Anglican minister married my great grandparents in
1880 and he was a travelling minister. He performed their marriage
at the Bokhara Hotel. Travlin ministers would travel
around all the properties and have meals and accommodation
with them. Originally they’d have been on foot, pushbikes, to a
horse and sulky (little 2 wheel buggy) and then we moved up in
the world to the old motor cars.
When you walk into the church and you look up, the way it is
built, the ceiling looks like the hull of an upturned boat. And
that seemed to be a common thing in churches of the era, even
overseas.
Inside we’ve got a few of the original pieces of furniture, there
is a couple of old pews, a beautiful alter with a marble top with
carved crosses in the corners.
The brass candle sticks have been there as long as I can remember
and up in the corner is a little brass box that apparently was
where they locked the wine. Unfortunately its locked at the
moment because the key has been lost, and today all the ministers
that come around bring their own.
My parents were married there, my brother and I were baptized
and my parents and grandparents funeral services were held
there, and although I don’t consider myself a good, reliable Anglican,
I’ve always had a strong connection to the church.
My very favourite thing in the church are the stained glass
windows above the alter. I just love to sit and look up at
them. If you’re feeling happy, or if you’re feeling sad
because it’s a funeral, it gives you something to concentrate
on. I just love looking at old churches. I like to
think about all the people that have passed through the
building and think about happy times and sad times. I was
a latecomer to being confirmed into the church I was in
my forties and the minister who confirmed me joked at
the time and said that confirmation was what they, in the
ministry, referred to as the Church’s Leaving Certificate’.
The minister at the time .. I just loved his sermons.. he
talked about things that were current, whether worldly
or personal.. you always paid attention to them. Some church
sermons, you’re looking up at the ceiling counting spiders
webs, they’ re so boring. It’s a bit of a rarity to find ones that
are current. One day he was talking about Tiger Woods sex
addiction, it was really interesting. I love current things.
I have lived in Brewarrina all my life, that is 60 years and I
would like to invite locals and visitors to come and have a look
around The Brewarrina Anglican Church, Christ Church
Brewarrina. It takes as little or as long as you like, usually about
30 minutes and we can talk and if you want to make a donation
to the church maintenance fund, then that would be welcome.
If you don’t want to donate, that’s fine too. There are some
wonderful stories here, and more come to me as I walk around,
so come and visit. Call me on 0428 244 718 or pop into the
Visitors Centre.
Groups from 1 – 6 people are preferred.
Cheryl Massey
Alter boys
Father Roach &
Bishop Stead
Did you Know?
The Christ Church in Brewarrina
was designed by rural church
architect Edmund Blackett,
who also designed St Andrews
Cathedral in Sydney and the
Sydney University Quadrangle
A plaque on the wall is dedicated
to a much loved Robert
Clyde Packer, who founded the
Packer media empire, was noted
for including a womens’
section in news and who died
on a boat in Marseilles in 1934.
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BREWARRINA NEWS