St Margaret's new parish hall

Parishioners of St Margaret’s Anglican Church in Belmont last week held a thanksgiving service for the dedication of a new parish hall which replaces one which was gutted by fire 12 years ago.

During the service, which was held at the church, parish priest Fr Ronald Branche said the church was grateful for assistance given from the corporate sector and members of the community.

“Over the years, we held a lot of fund-raisers to purchase building material. We also held many prayer sessions,” Branche said. “It cost $4.2 million to build this new parish hall which is outfitted with a large main hall and three offices. One is for the secretary, one is for meetings and one is for me. In addition, there are bathrooms and a large kitchen area.”

Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley said it was an ecstatic moment for members and the community in general. He said, on many occasions they were faced with challenges to fund the project and get permission from the authorities. “We are very happy to have reached this stage. It has taken quite a lot of skill, motivation and faith to move the people to this point.

“There is now space for the church to do its work and for members to interact with one another in an atmosphere that is conducive to building up the community,” he said.