Adelaide SA City of Churches - the Flinders Street Baptist Church

Into Jesus
In the city
International
Intergenerational

 That is the proud mission statement on the cover of the welcome leaflet to the Flinders Street Baptist Church in Adelaide City of Churches. The trouble was, I had to gain entrance to the church before I could pick up the leaflet, and that was not particularly easy to do. Which is a shame, because the church is definitely worth a visit. 

I had walked past this church several times during my pilgrimage to visit all the churches of Adelaide SA. The board outside told me and other passers by that it would be open on Tuesdays between 1.00pm and 2.0pm for a free concert. That is fine if you want to sit through the concert, but hardly conducive to anyone who simply wants to look at the church itself, or take a few moments of silence for quiet reflection and prayer. OK - the board tells us that if we want to do that the church is open again on Wednesdays from 12 noon to 2pm - just two hours in six days each week (discounting Sunday when it is of course open for its weekly services - which are very well attended - 100 or so I was told).

This certainly seems a very busy and flourishing church judging by the same welcoming leaflet: a special program for children, called Buzz, during the morning service; weekly English language classes for those whose first language is not English; and several different home groups meeting regularly, such as the fellowship group, a book club, and groups focusing on the needs of youth and young adults. 
Now I did finally manage to make it to Adelaide during that Wednesday window of opportunity and had a most fascinating conversation with the person on duty, a former minister to the church, after which I was able to stroll around, take photos, and pick up the aforementioned welcoming leaflet, together with "A Brief History." But the atmosphere was hardly conducive to simply taking my own private time for prayer, meditation or quiet reflection, always conscious of someone at the front of the church on "security duty." And they claim to be a community which is "open and hospitable... which reaches out to others."

It is also a shame that the Brief History notes are not anywhere on the website - or not that I could find anyway. The church, which opened for worship in 1863, and is heritage-listed, is noteworthy for: its gallery or balcony installed in 1873 to cope with the 500 or so congregation plus 500 scholars in the Sunday School; a rather magnificent pipe organ, the baptistry designed and indeed used for total immersion baptism; its links with Global Interaction (formerly the Australian Baptist Missionary Society) as recognized by plaques in the church: and some interesting stained glass windows including a rather beautiful rose window under the balcony.
Some day soon, when I come to the end of my Adelaide Churches pilgrimage, I am going to have a rant about closed churches - so watch this space. And meanwhile if you would like to contribute to that particular debate, whether about the churches in Adelaide or anywhere else across the world, I would really love to have your comments. In fact please leave your comments anyway! I know that lots of you out there are reading this series - I would love to hear from some of you. 

Adelaide City of Churches - the Pilgrim Uniting Church

This is my continuing series on Adelaide City of Churches, relating my experiences in trying to visit as many of the city's churches as possible. Sadly these days so many are closed and a little effort is sometimes required to see inside them. But so often I found that the effort was richly rewarded.

I wanted to put these buildings on the map again, and whether your interest is in history of buildings, religion, spirituality, or simply the appreciation of beautiful stained glass and other church artifacts, there is much to discover here.
Why am I doing this? I hope I shall thereby encourage visitors to go and see some of these buildings for themselves.

one of the aisle windows c. 1925

And even if you are far away from Australia I hope my photos and ramblings will still interest and inspire you:  perhaps to make your own pilgrimage to your own local churches, with an open mind to see what they have to offer. 

I wrote previously about Holy Trinity Church, on North Terrace, which claims to the Adelaide's first church. The Pilgrim Uniting Church says that it shares with Holy Trinity "the heritage of those who were the pioneers of the Christian faith in South Australia."

the interior with exceptional organ

The excellent Brief Historical and Architectural Guide which I picked up on my visit claims that the Pilgrim Uniting forebears "were the first to hold religious services on South Australia soil, the first to build a temporary structure of gum and pine (Congregational Chapel on North Terrace) and the first to build a stone church in the city (Wesleyan Chapel) in Hindley Street." Artifacts from both these earlier churches are brought together at this Uniting Church in Flinders Street.
And oh what joy - it is open every weekday from 10am to 2pm so I was able to go in and have a really good look around.

And here is a church which really rewards the visitor, with its beautiful stained glass windows, its memorial plaques and one of the finest organs in South Australia. 
And if you visit any Monday at 12.30 you will be able to enjoy the regular and free "Music in the Lane" event in the Pilgrim Plaza just outside the church, where you can take your lunch and sit with a cuppa listening to a range of different musical experiences. The day I visited the program was jazz, and very enjoyable it was too.

It is clear that this is a very active church - as were most of the churches I visited during my stay. This one has an active Facebook page as well.

It is encouraging to see that Christianity is alive and well in Adelaide city of churches.
Between them all, a range of worship styles is offered, in addition to many other events and activities in each place; enough going on to suit just about any taste.
So do find a little time during your visit to Adelaide to visit some of these churches.

It is possible at the Tourist Information offices to pick up a blue flyer - "The Churches of Adelaide welcome you and invite you to their services" - which lists all the churches within the city area, with addresses, contact details and times of services. 

Adelaide City of churches - Christ Church North Adelaide

The residential streets of North Adelaide are simply charming. The Jacaranda trees lining many of the streets were at their very best, branches laden with the unmistakeable pendulous purple-blue flowers, and complemented by the reds, whites and pinks of the many rose bushes in full bloom - it is after all summer in South Australia. Strolling past the striking Adelaide Oval cricket ground, claimed to be the most beautiful cricket ground in the country, and the Anglican Cathedral, where I was pleased to worship during my visit to this wonderful city, I was making my way to the historic Christ Church, established in the mid 19th century.
Sadly I was too late to see inside. As I was coming to expect in Adelaide City of Churches, the church was locked, although I just caught a delightfully helpful lady as she was locking up the church office for the day. It was too much for me to ask to be allowed access when she was on her way home. She did however give me a rather beautifully illustrated booklet, describing in some detail the history of the church and its many points of interest, although it it was clearly written before the installation of a new pulpit in 2011.

The booklet also states "The church is among the few open daily, enabling residents and visitors to spend time in quietness and prayer." Oh dear. That is no longer the case. When did this change and why?

The 1939 bell tower

I read that this church exists in no small part due to the efforts of a group of women who started a building fund back in 1841 and collected £60 as its nucleus. A group of Anglicans had been holding services for a while by that time in the area, through the kindness and hospitality of the local Wesleyan Methodists and the Society of Friends, or Quakers, but they felt the urgent desire for a church building to call their own. This wish became reality when on Ascension Day 1848, 1st June, the foundation stone was laid, and Christ Church was consecrated and opened for worship by Bishop Short on 20th December 1849.

Here is clearly a very active church, well staffed and attended, with a strong music tradition and with services (of which there are four each Sunday, plus a mid week Eucharist) based on the Book of Common Prayer. I was just so disappointed that I was unable to see inside for myself, to see for myself the stained glass windows, the new pulpit, and Bishop Short's throne (the church was used for a while as the "stand-in" cathedral before Saint Peter's Anglican Cathedral was completed).

The website says that the parish office is now open Wednesday to Friday, 9am to 1pm, for anyone who would like to make contact with them for further information, and hopefully to gain access to look at this historic and interesting pioneer church in Adelaide City of Churches.

The church also has a facebook page.

Adelaide City of Churches - A Light on the Hill in North Adelaide

It wasn't difficult for me to find Brougham Place Uniting Church in North Adelaide (formerly one of Adelaide's "congregational" churches until 1975 when it became one of the new Uniting Churches resulting from the unification of the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches of Australia). Walking up the hill from the Anglican Cathedral of St Peter, after attending the spiritually uplifting morning Eucharist there, I soon spotted the striking honey-coloured tower across the park, framed by the green of the trees in full leaf, and silhouetted against a perfect blue summer sky.  The church describes itself as "A light on the hill" and it is a beautiful sight. My delight was complete when I found the church doors still open, some time after the end of their own 10am morning worship. I could hear singing, and crept quietly inside, to be rewarded by the sound of the choir practising Christmas songs, including "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Riding through the snow, on a one horse open sleigh." Not quite what I expected!!

The 1891 Doolette Memorial Window

 

A very friendly Jenny, one of the pastors, came up to greet me and said she had no objections to me having a good look around while the choir continued their practice, and yes, I could take as many photos as I liked.
It seems very strange for me coming from a cold and wet autumn/winter in the UK, to the heat of a South Australia summer, about to celebrate Christmas with our own traditional songs about snow and sledges! However, the choir were obviously having much fun. I heard someone quip that perhaps a "ute" would be more appropriate than a sledge in Australia (i.e. utility vehicle or what we would call a pick-up truck!).
The outside of this church is a thing of beauty in its own right, but inside one's attention is immediately drawn to the beautiful organ and the equally striking stained glass windows, 8 of them in all, through which the strong midday sunshine was streaming.
A google search told me that this beautiful building is open on weekdays, except Wednesday, from 9-12 noon, and on Sundays from 10 - 12 noon. If you are in the area do go and look at those beautiful stained glass windows for yourself, and admire the organ (dating back to 1882, originally powered by hand bellows!) and upper gallery. website. (where there is much more information besides).

looking towards the galleries at the back of the church

There was a leaflet available which gives full details of the windows and the organ, repeated on the excellent website.

 This church was founded on the 20th October 1859, the foundation stone laid of 15th May 1860 and the first service was held on 22nd  February 1861. The first minister was the Reverend James Jefferis. I learnt that when he was offered a gift of twenty thousand pounds (a considerable sum in those days) for a denominational college, he had a much wider vision, and arranged for the gift to become the nucleus for the founding of the University of Adelaide, whose lovely buildings are to be seen around the city.

This is a vibrant church with plenty of activities for all and with a strong music and arts tradition. 
I picked up the service sheet for the morning's worship, and saw details of Noisy Bucket collecting and Youth Busking at the morning tea after the service. Also coming up were a talk on someone's visit to Israel and Palestine, an educational workshop Beyond Violence, details of a Christmas Trading Table, Cookies and Craft, a spring cleaning Working Bee, a celebration dinner for the whole church community, and much more besides. 

As the website states, here is "a community of hope that has passed faith from generation to generation, standing for justice and truth, equality and compassion, grace and love.  Its cornerstone is built on Christ, the Living Word, spoken in the lives of its members.  The Spirit continues to lead the mission of Brougham Place as it seeks to reach out and make known the love of God."

Adelaide City of Churches

St Peter's Anglican Cathedral Adelaide

... as a friend told me when I said I was going to come here. So why is there so little readily available information about them? Indeed the only reference I could find in the Visitors' Guide to Adelaide which I picked up on arrival in the city was in the city map where just three churches are shown, the Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox cathedrals. The Guide's Contents listing directs me to shopping, nightlife, arts and culture, attractions, events, markets, parks and gardens, and so on, but any mention of churches, even these three great cathedral buildings?  No!
This is a shame, because these cathedral churches alone offer much for the visitor to see and enjoy.
So why isn't Adelaide, City of Churches, directing its visitors to them?
I decided to dig deeper, and found a more detailed city map which helpfully shows twelve city churches, and even lists them. This was a good start! But it was only when I visited one of those listed did I find a little blue leaflet, which gives details of no less than 24 of the Christian churches of all denominations, and on the cover it says: "The Churches of Adelaide welcome you and invite you to their services." But it seems the visitor to this beautiful city is unlikely to find the churches unless he visits one!
And you don't have to attend any service, or even be a Christian, to appreciate much that these many churches can offer the visitor. 

Catholic Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier

Armed with the list and the map, I embarked on a pilgrimage around all these holy places, and found many to be very well worth the visit, whether as tourist interested in the history and culture or simply appreciative of beautiful buildings; and whatever your faith, creed, religion, or spirituality. The first step on my pilgrimage was to attend a Sunday morning Eucharist at the Anglican Cathedral. That was a deeply spiritual experience for me and a good start! Divine music, with heavenly organ and choir and plenty of incense. And the post service hospitality for all was generous and friendly.

So I shall soon be starting a series here on Adelaide City of Churches, relating my experiences and hoping to put these buildings on the map again. I hope I shall thereby encourage visitors to go and see some of these buildings for themselves, whether as tourist or worshipper. And if you are far away from Australia I hope my photos and ramblings will still interest and inspire you:  perhaps to make your own pilgrimage to your own local churches, with an open mind to see what they have to offer.