A few weeks ago I had occasion to see the refurbished interior of St Nicholas Church in South Christchurch (Barrington). The most noticeable changes are a rebuilt chancel area that’s more accessible, new ceiling paneling, a new carpet, new windows, new chairs, and an enclosed children’s room near the back of the church. The church has also been opened up by folding doors to connect it with the foyer, so that a larger space can be created when required.

The Parish did have some money from the sale of property and decided that the church looked tired and needed an upgrade. Somewhat uncharacteristically the project came in under budget, though slightly late. This was due to exceptionally good project management. The Parish was blessed to have an active parishioner, who was able to lead the project planning and was able to source some of the materials at a good price. The parish also purchased the new chairs at just the right time, when the company offered them at a special price.

Overall, St Nicholas now has a much enhanced space and has improved the flow and function of their facilities. It also allowed them to have more storage space, particularly also for another congregation that is using the church. Overall, the facilities are now better for the church and other groups that use the facilities.

I think it is important to know that Anglican parishes in Christchurch are continuing to improve facilities and not all funds are dedicated to rebuilding the Cathedral. Nevertheless, Synod did pass a motion that if funding from both the city and the government would become available, then the Diocese would be tasked to find “surplus” assets with parishes to allocate towards the Cathedral restoration. Exactly what those surplus assets would be, is difficult to judge. After all, many parishes are struggling financially and could do with some passive income or an upgrade of their facilities.

What this might mean for St Paul’s is also unknown. If we do sell the land (and there have been some complications recently), then the Diocese might well ask the Parish to consider how much is required for upgrading facilities, how much to generate income and how much might be considered surplus and be allocated towards the Cathedral. Still, all this depends on any government contribution. How much appetite there is from a future government to contributing towards the Cathedral restoration is still unknown.