Jenan Taylor
8 October 2023
It was built so that Mallacoota locals had a place for funerals, weddings and baptisms, but for 50 years, the only church in town has shone a light forward for the town and its visitors in a myriad more ways.
St Peter’s first vicar the Reverend Graeme MacRobb, together with the town’s bakers, teachers, shopkeepers and fishermen, built the church in 1973, according to historical reports.
The bow-shaped building went on to be used by Anglican, Catholic, Uniting and Pentecostal communities, as well as an array of clubs and groups, and people from the wider community.
In October, they’ll all gather to celebrate those 50 years.
Priest the Reverend Jude Benton said the celebrations would focus on the ministries the church has delivered since 1973, rather than just what the building itself has enabled.
Read more: Christ Church’s rich traditions will be focus of 150th celebrations
Ms Benton said those efforts had helped people, whether they were believers or not, come to see St Peter’s as an inseparable part of their community.
She said a core ministry was St Peter’s Op Shop. More than just a shop for second hand clothes or camping gear, it was how the church showed its intentional openness and service to the community, she said.
People always knew they could go there to sit and have a chat or ask for help, she said.
Ms Benton said it was frequently the place where people bounced around ideas about how to help others out in the community.
She said it was also where Bush Church Aid Nomads, regular holiday makers, as well as unchurched community people, joined congregational members to volunteer.
Ms Benton said another church focus was growing the community’s knowledge and love of God and each other through its prayer projects, its BCA partnership programs, and connections with Scripture Union.
Read more: Upper Beaconsfield’s tiny congregation to celebrate towering faith
One of these was the Scripture Union’s Theos youth initiative, a mission that has run for more than 30 years and particularly during school holiday times.
The Theos group traditionally ran the first Sunday service of the year at St Peter’s, a gathering that attracted a huge number of holidaymakers, Ms Benton said.
Then there was her The Random Rambles of the Rev, radio show.
Conceived during the pandemic lockdowns to enable the church to reach a population still recovering from the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, the radio program runs every Wednesday evening.
The show covers everything from children’s stories to music, and has captured listeners from well outside the local area.
Ms Benton has no doubt that the bushfires brought St Peter’s back into focus for many people.
But she believes it’s worth remembering that the entire history of the church was about change.
“Six years ago, the tide had gone out and there were very few congregation members. They were good and faithful people, but things just weren’t working that well. Then, a whole lot of Christians moved into town at roughly the same time, and started coming to church. After the fire, a group from a closed Pentecostal church out of town came to join us. It’s all about ebbs and flows,” Ms Benton said.
She said most of the congregation now identified as being from faith backgrounds other than Anglican.
This, in combination with the annual holidaymakers who saw themselves as part of St Peter’s when they came, gave the church a mixed nature which was something to extol, Ms Benton said.
But the anniversary would also be about praying for the future of St Peter’s and its ministries, she said.
Increasing the use of the church as a peaceful space with great acoustics was among the many aims.
It was used to that end for a spate of musical gatherings recently, including a musical fundraiser for a group of seasonal workers from Vanuatu.
Ms Benton said the church planned to mark the anniversary with food, music and a service on the 7th and 8th of October.
It invited former clergy and all congregation members, including regular holiday-makers, and people would be able to tell stories about their memories across the decades, she said.
Ms Benton said Gippsland Bishop Richard Treloar would preside at the community service assisted by the Uniting Church’s Reverend Peter Harvey, while BCA national director the Revered Greg Harris would preach.
For more on the celebrations, see here.
For more faith news, follow The Melbourne Anglican on Facebook, Instagram, or subscribe to our weekly emails.
