Gardening at East Geelong Church

Volunteer gardeners tidied up the flower beds at the East Geelong Uniting Church the other day.  Plans are afoot to really create a nicer environment for our local church by more garden ideas.  One possibility is to work with horticultural course students. As there's no fencing one problem is that vandals might pull up new plantings. Wouldn't it be good if neighbours could plant vegetables near the roads in our suburb to share. Members of our church do share goods from their back gardens  - yesterday we were given broccoli and spinach - excellent for my iron needs for good health.  Here's a picture of the helpers at the recent working bee. After their efforts they enjoyed a rich chocolate cake, thanks to Rob.

Whittington Strings in Geelong

The Whittington Strings is a project initiated by our East church to assist a group of boys and girls to learn to play the violin, cello and double bass. Whittington Primary School is in a suburb where there is a lot of disadvantage and it's a super project to upskill children and give them confidence. Two boys have even joined a community strings group. Today our church council members visited the school and saw the music practice session and then two lads played for us in the staff room where we had our Council meeting and lunch. Great. I took a few photos including a couple of large paintings in the corridor.

St Giles for sale again and again

No longer a church really, St Giles in Geelong is up for sale again. These days it's offices for beauty therapy. One time it was a nightclub. Many churches these days are converted into homes, restaurants, offices. One was just sold out at the lovely little village of Ceres just out of Geelong. The former St Giles Church dates back to 1861 and was designed by noted architect Nathaniel Billing as part of a competition, according to theHeritage Council Victoria. Today it  is a contemporary three-level conversion that houses a beauty therapy business.

Young family buys slice of history as former Ceres church sells at auction

TESSA HAYWARD, Geelong Advertiser

August 1, 2016 10:17am

A YOUNG Rippleside family has secured its own piece of history in Ceres after buying the disused Uniting Church for $500,000.

With plans to renovate the interior and convert it to a residence in which they will live, the new owners outbid two other interested parties at the auction on Saturday to secure the 1230sq m property. The new owner, who wants to remain anonymous, said he had always liked the heritage built properties and had seen some church conversions that came up well.

“I am going to have a talk to an architect and see what we can do,” he said.

The church, constructed of Barrabool freestone, is heritage listed so the facade cannot be altered but the interior has more flexibility.

Originally the Ceres Wesleyan Methodist Church, it was built in 1855 and the accompanying Sunday school dates back to 1864.

The Sunday school was included in the sale, however, selling agent Brett Walker, of Barry Plant Highton, said if the buyer did not want it the neighbouring town hall would move it on to its property.

The last service at the Ceres Uniting Church, located at 2a (17) McCann St, was in December. The Uniting Church decided to sell after the congregation fell to as few as three.

A Barrabool Hills Uniting Church parishioner, Nola Noble, said it was sad to see the church sell. “It is an end of an era, we don’t like to see churches closing,” Ms Noble said.

Mr Walker said it was a rare opportunity to buy a church. “It is a unique opportunity to purchase a piece of history,” he said.

Located in the heart of Ceres, the church is a part of an identifiable group of buildings surrounded by properties.