St Paul’s Box Hill – Dedication of New Buildings
For some years, St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Box Hill watched as the area around them was sold and redeveloped at a great pace into a sea of towers and high density living. Mission seemed exciting but access to their church, which they had built in 1953-54, was becoming difficult, and parking almost impossible especially during the week. They pursued several options but then came a ‘God-moment’ for them – St James Uniting Church at 1201 Riversdale Road was for sale, and the site included a carpark over the road. The purchase was finalised in October 2018, after a very successful sale of their property in Box Hill.
It then became a project of love to restore this church for their current needs because it had a heritage overlay, due to its notable early modernist, mid-century architecture designed by the prominent architect David Chancellor of Chancellor & Patrick. The exterior of the church needed to be retained in its entirety – but an exemption was granted by Whitehorse Council for the front entry. The interior was extensively renovated and it is now an inspiring and beautiful worship home which will serve the congregation well for many years ahead. The church was re-dedicated in 2020.
However, the rest of the buildings on the site were unsuitable for the needs of St Paul’s congregation, and for the two other entities who wished to join St Paul’s on the same site. They are the Chinese Lutheran Church, formerly meeting at Doncaster, and the head offices of the Lutheran Church of Australia, Victorian and Tasmania District. And so St Paul’s Centre was born, with planning for the extension commencing soon after purchase. This was interrupted during the Covid years and an explosion in building costs. The congregation engaged the same architectural firm they had used for the church renovation, Law Architects, and they have done fine work in extending the church space into large community and office areas – all the time preserving the integrity of the original church design including its façade.
During August, the congregations will move all their activities and staff into the centre, with the District following in November. It will be formally dedicated on 14 September, but members are already enjoying the space and warmth of their new home.
Do feel free to visit us and inspect our new premises, and enjoy some hospitality. God’s goodness and grace to us needs to be shared!
