Contrasting emotions over churches

Ruatangata community member Sam Airey, Mike Shuker and Alan Agnew are sad there'll be no Easter Service in the Ruatangata Pioneers' Memorial Church this weekend after the building was sold. Photo/Michael Cunningham

Two Whangarei church communities will have contrasting emotions this Easter.

One will celebrate its historic old church being bought by locals, the other mourning the fact there'll be no Easter Service for the first time in more than 60 years after its church was sold.

There will be quite different feelings in McLeod Bay and Ruatangata/Pipiwai as the Whangarei Heads Community celebrates saving its historic pioneer church in McLeod Bay while those in and around Pipiwai will have to go elsewhere for their Easter worship after the Ruatangata Pioneers' Memorial Church was sold by the Methodist Church.

Eric Jagger, a member of the Whangarei Heads Pioneer Church Trust, said it took the community about six months to raise the $40,000 plus needed to buy the McLeod Bay church from the Presbyterian Property Trustees of Aotearoa.

"We feel for the Ruatangata people. But we were able to set up a community trust once we knew the church could be sold and, over six months or so, raised the $40,000 or so needed," Mr Jagger said.

The formal handover of the title was made on March 30 with a ceremony at the church and Mr Jagger said it was all go for an Easter Service on Sunday. A new community trust will be set up to run the 1858 church, which will be used by multi-denominations.

"We managed to raise the money without too much fanfare and it's a great example of what a community can do if it gets together and has the will and a bit of time," he said.

Alan Agnew is one of many in the Pipiwai/Ruatangata community who won't be celebrating Easter at their local church, on Pipiwai Rd, about 19km northwest of Whangarei, after it was sold for about $125,000.

Mr Agnew says it will be the first time in his life he won't be going to the church for Easter and he and the rest of the community will have to go to churches in Whangarei. The new owners of the church have offered the community space to hold services there, but the next available date is in mid-May.

"It'll be the first time since about 1940 there will be no Easter Service here. It's just so sad. The McLeod Bay people had more time to get the money raised to buy their church and good on them for that," Mr Agnew said.

"But this sale was done so quickly that we couldn't stop it."

The community spent about $6000 on legal fees trying to stop the sale, arguing as it was built with community labour, it shouldn't be sold.

The church won that initial battle and Mr Agnew said the costs of fighting further were too much while the community did not have the time to raise the money to buy it.