By PHILIP ENGLISH
An old Auckland landmark church is being sold by its congregation because they find the building too bulky for the number of worshippers using it.
But members of the Christian Science Church, a prominent Symonds St building since the early 1930s and a tranquil refuge from the street hustle outside, are pragmatic.
"We don't worship a church building. Let's put it that way," the chairman of the church board, Dean Hill, said yesterday.
"A church building is a place of worship but the church itself is the members.
"If one was to worship buildings then all is lost, isn't it? We worship God, not a building.
"The building is very useful and most of us quite like it but it is like houses. One can outgrow a house or find a house is either too small or too big. Common sense says it's time to check it out, look around and make a move."
He said if there was a wrench to leaving it was because of all the effort, thought, time and money the early congregation members had put into the building from about 1916 to completion in 1933.
"We find that we really do need something that is smaller and probably more comfortable in some respects. We are in no mad rush to move out. It was just simply decided by members to sell and endeavour to relocate and that is exactly what we will do."
Mr Hill would not discuss a sale price, saying only that the value of the church lay "in the eyes of the beholder."
The church, next to Grafton Gully, has a category B heritage listing with the Auckland City Council, meaning it is a significant building protected from major exterior modification.
The interior contains a reading room, Sunday School premises and a cavernous wood-panelled auditorium with seating in pews for about 300 and a large organ for recitals and hymns.
Mr Hill said the auditorium would make an excellent venue for musical performances, but prospective buyers had a range of ideas for using the building.
He said that in the meantime, the public were welcome to pop in to view the church or attend its services, which revolved around the writings of Mary Baker Eddy in the late 1800s.
Christian Science followers study the Bible for practical guidance to spiritual wellbeing and healing.
Old church too big for its flock
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