CONTRIBUTED BY FR. DANIEL HOBBS
As we prepare for the birth of new life in Christ this Christmas, St Paul’s prepares for new life as Anglicans in Manly.
As a proactive response to our ministry context and for the benefit of the whole Manly community, St Paul’s voluntarily opted to sell the site of our current church to enable the expansion of Manly State School and relocate the parish to the Anglicare Chapel at E.M. Marsden Tooth Memorial Home.
This is not our first rodeo! Anglicans have gathered in Manly for over 130 years. During that time, we have worshipped in four different locations reflecting our willingness to adapt to the needs of our wider community. The Chapel at Lota House will serve as our fifth place of worship. Our ministry in the local community continues and we look forward to our move to the Chapel in 2023.
I am thankful for the way in which the principal of Manly State School, Mr Clayton Carnes, and I have worked collaboratively as we together navigated uncharted waters for both Education Queensland and the Anglican Church Southern Queensland. What Mr. Carnes and I have demonstrated is that anything is possible when positive outcomes for genuine community remain the focus.
Education Queensland’s plans for the site not only offer more much needed space for learning and play, but also include the refurbishment of the church as a Student Performance Centre. Here again we see new life emerging for our sacred space, where the next generation will learn, play and grow. This is our shared legacy of love for our wider Manly community.
To enable our new Lota House Chapel ministry, Diocesan Council back in May approved our request that a percentage of the proceeds of sale of our site be returned to the parish. We are grateful for Bishop John Roundhill’s public statement back in April that these funds will be allocated to support our ongoing presence in Manly.
We do not live in the past, but the past very much lives in us. All that St Paul’s represents, all that has been offered by those who have come before us, all that God has called us to be continues in the hearts and prayers of faithful, loving, beautiful humans known to the world as “St Paul’s Manly”.
Fr. Daniel Hobbs tssf
Parish Priest
St Paul’s Anglican Church
99 Ernest Street, Manly
e: [email protected]
