Christ Church, Rouse Hill

Rouse Hill Anglican Church with historic Christ Church in the foreground and the new Ministry and Education Centre in the background

Christ Church is an historic church building belonging to Rouse Hill Anglican Church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney located on Windsor Road, Rouse Hill, in the north west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Christ Church, was built in 1863 and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Rouse Hill.

History

The land for the church, ¾ acre in total, was donated by Robert Fitzgerald to the Bishop of Sydney in 1863.^[1]

A summary of the history of Christ Church and its buildings, as recorded by Warren et al. (2006) follows:

• 1863: Land gifted to the Bishop of Sydney
• 1863: Christ Church built for the sum of 603 pounds 3 shillings
• 1863-1869: Christ Church building used as both a church and school
• 1869: A separate school building was built on the same parcel of land
• 1875: School changed from a denominational school to a public school
• 1878: Christ Church consecrated
• 1888: School closed and pupils transferred to new Rouse Hill Public School
• 1908: School building demolished and replaced by a hall (still standing)
• 1963: School master's residence demolished
• early 1980s: Church closed
• 1998: Church re-opened as a home for the congregation from St. Stephens, Kellyville
• 2004: Church closed when a new building for St. Stephens was completed in Kellyville
• 2006: Development Application lodged with council to redevelop the site

In recent years, the site has once more become active with construction commencing in 2007 on a new Ministry and Education Centre to be built alongside Christ Church. As part of this project, restoration works were undertaken to Christ Church and the 1908 hall. In March 2008, Rouse Hill Anglican Church moved back to the site from their temporary home at Rouse Hill Anglican College. The Ministry and Education Centre was officially opened on 27 April 2008 by the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen. ^[2]

Current Ministry

The current rector is the Rev. Graeme Howells.^[3] The church currently has two services each Sunday: a 10am contemporary family service and 5pm church@five.

See also

• List of Anglican churches in the Diocese of Sydney

References

1. ^ Warren, J.; Wilson, P.; Pullen, N. (2006). Rouse Hill Village: a step back in time. The Hills District Historical Society Inc. ISBN 0-95-776023-X
2. ^ Percy, N. (2008). "People know we’re here!". SydneyAnglicans.net. http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/people_know_were_here/. Retrieved July 2, 2008. 
3. ^ Bradley P. (2011). "Rouse Hill welcomes new minister". Rouse Hill Times. http://rouse-hill-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/rouse-hill-welcomes-new-minister/. Retrieved September 7, 2011. 

External links

• Rouse Hill Anglican Church home page
• church@five home page

Province of Victoria
Dioceses Diocese of Bendigo · Diocese of Ballarat · Diocese of Gippsland · Diocese of Melbourne (Churches) · Diocese of Wangaratta Cathedrals St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne Churches Christ Church Geelong  · Holy Trinity Church, Bacchus Marsh  · St Peter's, Eastern Hill

Province of Queensland
Dioceses Diocese of Brisbane · Diocese of North Queensland · Diocese of Rockhampton · Diocese of The Northern Territory Cathedrals St John's Cathedral, Brisbane  · St James' Cathedral, Townsville Churches All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane

Province of Western Australia
Dioceses Diocese of Bunbury · Diocese of North West Australia · Diocese of Perth Cathedrals St George's Cathedral, Perth Churches All Saints Church, Henley Brook

Province of South Australia
Dioceses Diocese of Adelaide · Diocese of The Murray · Diocese of Willochra Cathedrals St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide Churches Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide  · St Matthew's Church, Kensington

Extra-provincial
Dioceses Diocese of Tasmania Cathedrals St David's Cathedral, Hobart

Defunct
Dioceses Dicoese of Carpentaria · Diocese of Kalgoorlie · Diocese of St Arnaud

 Anglicanism portal