Hannah Felsbourg
8 August 2024
Vicars of a newly merging parish hope to revive their churches and reach their communities for Jesus.
The parishes of St George’s Monbulk, St Martin’s Belgrave Heights, and Upwey/Belgrave will merge into the Parish of Upwey, Belgrave and Monbulk from 1 October 2024.
Joint vicars the Reverends Jerome and Vivianne Dias said the renewal process would be challenging but could deepen community connections.
Mrs Dias said the merger aimed to consolidate finances and governance for efficiency while each church would retain its unique identity and worshipping community.
She said they were considering how best to serve each church location and support them in mission.
They hoped an op-shop in Belgrave and a Mainly Music program in Upwey would provide outreach opportunities for volunteers from the church to connect with the wider community.
Read more: Should it stay or should it go? The humble parish
Mrs Dias said she prayed for the congregations to be on fire with the love of God, and for God’s spirit to ignite fires in the hearts of those who were yet to know him.
“I want to see our people growing in confidence to bear witness to Jesus in their context, and I want to see God at work through those conversations,” Mrs Dias said.
“I want to see their people come to be in awe of God and come to love Jesus.”
Mr Dias said there were challenges ahead with small congregations and limited funding for things that need upgrading or fixing in the parish.
However, he said sometimes people could get so fixated on what they did not have, they missed out on fellowshipping with the people around them.
“I’m hoping that we can have times of really connecting well with each other in the months and year ahead, of real deep fellowship,” Mr Dias said.
A special launch service will be held at Holy Trinity Upwey on 6 October 2024 at 10:30am.
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