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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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Media releases: |
Letter to the editor, The MercuryDear Editor I write in response to a number of recent letters regarding Holy Trinity Church. The Church has recently taken the difficult and sad decision to deconsecrate this historic building, meaning that regular Sunday services will no longer take place there. This decision was taken after a long process of consultation and research into the state of the building. The Holy Trinity Parish Council, elected by the congregation, formally petitioned me in March to close it The Council took this step because they could see that maintaining and restoring the building was far beyond their resources. They also felt strongly that to put in the time and energy required to save the building would mean very little left over to carry out the future ministry and mission of the Parish. A highly respected and professional Australian heritage architect has put the cost of urgently needed restoration and upkeep of the Holy Trinity building at $4 million. Contrary to some expressed opinions, this figure is understood to be a conservative one, as the condition of the building is dire. As your readers would be aware, costs of such restoration often increase markedly, but rarely decrease. After this 10-20 year period, there would also be substantial additional ongoing costs. The Holy Trinity Parish has some property assets, though not enough to fund the needed work. However, these are currently used to support the ongoing ministry of the Parish. If they were to be all sold and the proceeds used to restore the building we would end up with a partly restored building, and no money for ministry. As difficult as this may be, the ministry of the Church is first and foremost about people. The Church is grateful that the Hobart City Council may fund a Conservation Management Plan, and will certainly take up that offer. This will not result in the decision to deconsecrate being reversed, as the basic reality of the situation will remain the same. However, the Plan will assist us to try to find a way for the building to continue as a significant part of Hobart's skyline and heritage. Like many of your readers, I am very sad about this situation, and wish that the facts might be different. However, there comes a time when we must make difficult decisions to ensure the ongoing viability of the Church's ministry to people.
Bishop John Harrower |
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