Christmas is meant to be a joyous occasion but for the parishioners of the Jugiong Anglican Church it is the complete opposite. Members of the community are devastated by the news received from the Gundagai Parish Council that Christ Church Jugiong is to be closed & SOLD off. This proposal is even more devastating for one parishioner who in her 80’s still continues to clean the church for the monthly service, and had previously kept the grounds mowed and maintained.
The news of the closure & future sale has greatly upset her & caused her immeasurable stress. This woman has attended this church since she was a baby when she was christened, she married her husband there, her three daughters were christened & confirmed there & two were also married in the same church. Now she faces the prospect that she will be unable to be buried from that Church. The Church is part of the history of the Jugiong parishioners as loved ones have been christened, confirmed, married & buried in this church. A planned Christening has already been denied for a local family with Gundagai being presented as the alternate location. Some 35 kilometres away. Many hours of labour have been given & items donated to the church by local residents over the years.
A quote from the ‘Centenary of Christ Church Jugiong’ book 1972-3 “Many people, known & unknown, have contributed to the building up of the Christian community in Jugiong. Those who pioneered the Church in a new land left us a worthy example. We who value an age-old Faith need the same pioneering resilience as we seek to find our way in a world of new ideas and opportunities”. It would appear that in this instance, The Anglican Church is more concerned about profit than faith. It’s a sad reflection on society when religion becomes more about “How deep are your pockets” than administering the faith. Gundagai have two churches approximately 5 minutes’ drive from each other. One might ask Why one of those buildings are not being sold off to support the local parish instead? The way in which the Gundagai Anglican Parish has conducted this whole process has been truly disgusting with NO consultation at all with the Jugiong parishioners and not looking at alternative solutions to keep the church open Sadly, it would appear that All the Gundagai Parish Council could see was how much money they would get if they sold off the land. Do not think for one moment that the Jugiong parishioners will be running into Gundagai to avail themselves of the Parish services.The last official service is to be conducted on Thursday 22 December 2016 at 7 pm. Alannah Lord
