Churchgoers keep calm and carry on

Last updated 12:03 17/06/2011

 

 Above: Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, post-September quake.  Below: After the February quake.

 

Their church building is destroyed but the congregation of the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church are determined to be part of Christchurch's future.

Their minister, CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN, wants readers who are thinking of leaving Christchurch to know that they are staying.

---

In the wake of the June 13 earthquakes, the sense is that many Cantabrians are struggling.

Monday's shakes have been like the last straw and some are considering pulling up roots and leaving our city.

Our unique and much loved Oxford Terrace Baptist Church building has been gradually reduced to the ground since last September.

At first, restoration was contemplated. But then in February its loss became a "no-brainer", and these last tremors are like the final nails in the coffin.

As a church community, we are also struggling.

The word "church" is all about people, so it is not the end for a group who began as the first Baptist congregation here nearly 150 years ago in 1863.

We are determined that the old white pillars on the corner of Madras St and Oxford Tce will be replaced, somehow, somewhere, with a contemporary facility that is "open" in its feel, that is useful to many, and that is connected to our city.

There have been opinions expressed quite widely about what the churches should do considering so many of their buildings have been destroyed.

For many organisations, in fact, the destruction of meeting places has brought a kind of release, and once distant and idealistic ideas of mergers now seem to be more than just a possibility.

Church communities, both Baptist and otherwise, have been making the most of the opportunities that our tough times have thrown up.

Even if our conversations ultimately become too complex to complete, it is clear that the experiences of the last months have brought closer together churches and other organisations with an interest in the support and welfare of the people of this city.

This can only be good.

In particular, though, the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church is not packing its bags and moving elsewhere in the hope of getting away from an unsettled city.

We are "keeping calm and carrying on", even if keeping calm is a bit of a pipe dream right now.

We are continuing to plan for a future which at this moment seems very uncertain.

We want to make this declaration in the first place for the sake of the many people for whom the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, on the corner of Madras St and Oxford Tce, has for a century and a half been a visible sign and symbol of Christian faith, hope and love.

We'd like readers of the paper, who may themselves be seriously contemplating moving away from Christchurch, to know that despite the difficulties and sapping effect of the quakes, we are going to stay.

We are open to new ways of looking at Christian expression in the city.

We feel more than ever the need to support our neighbours in the inner city, and to encourage planners and rebuilders in the difficult and drawn-out time that lies ahead.

At this point in time we have no idea what kind of rebuilding will take place, and whether it will be on this site or some other nearby, but we are clear that the same motives that drove the founders of this church are still at work in our thinking and actions.

We fully intend to keep this church and the good that it stands for a very visible and active presence in the central business district.

Wherever people live and work, there is a need for groups that enable faith to be expressed. There is also a need for people to serve and support one another.

There is a need for fair and just dealings with one another in the community, commerce and government.

At times, when our dreams of a happy and comfortable life fall apart, we need to hear that most fundamental part of the Christian tradition which is that there is a purpose to life, that the purpose is good and that God is good and benevolent and loving towards humanity.

---

* The Reverend Chris Chamberlain is senior minister of the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church.

- The Press

Cathedral future now uncertain

CHARLIE GATES

Last updated 05:00 16/06/2011

 

Earthquake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral could be demolished and rebuilt further west, senior clergy say.

Bishop Victoria Matthews and Dean Peter Beck say the cathedral needs to be in the centre of the city.

If quake-damaged land was abandoned in the eastern suburbs and the focal point of the city shifted west, the cathedral would be rebuilt in the new centre, Matthews said.

"If the whole city moves west, we need to be in the centre of the city. We want to be in the centre of the city as an icon," she said.

"What is important is we keep asking the big questions and we don't get tied up in details. The big question is if the cathedral is the heart and soul of the city, where do we place the cathedral?

"In the worst sense, it is a moveable feast. I think there will be a huge amount riding on the land report, when we find out what parts of the city will be rebuilt.

"The centre of the city can't be in isolation. It is in relationship to the rest of the city. The land report will be of key importance."

Beck said: "It seems to me that wherever the centre of the city is going to be, we would like the cathedral to be in the city centre, where it always has been.

"`If the city moves west, then the cathedral needs to be at the heart of the city.

"The Cathedral in the Square has been in the heart of our city almost from the beginning, but wherever the heart of the city is, that is where we will be."

Matthews said she had "every expectation" of rebuilding in Cathedral Square but "would be a fool if [she] didn't think of every possible outcome".

She said the Monday aftershocks and the destruction of the rose window raised questions over whether the cathedral needed to be deconsecrated and demolished.

"The decision has yet to be made," she said.

"There isn't a time frame on the decision. It could be in the next month or it could be the next three months

"We know some of it will have to come down because of the damage, but whether we have to take the whole thing down is still a live question."

She said any new cathedral would be built to serve different needs.

"The needs of 150 to 160 years ago are very different to the needs of the city now.

"The new cathedral needs to have more office space and space for a children's programme and space for morning tea after church services," she said.

"A question that will be asked is, `What is safe for the future?' We need something that is much more forgiving in the event of an earthquake."

Beck said the cathedral would be rebuilt.

"What we do know is we are going to rebuild the cathedral. What we don't know is how we are going to do that," he said.

"There is a huge variety of options and it is far too early to contemplate that. There are so many things that we don't know."

- The Press

Cathedral's fate remains unclear

MICHAEL WRIGHT

Last updated 05:00 06/05/2011

 

The dome on the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament may be down in four weeks, but the fate of the Christchurch landmark is still unclear.

The Catholic cathedral has been too dangerous to enter since the September 4 quake, but engineers have inspected the interior from a crane.

The main dome is unstable and has to be removed to ease pressure on the supporting structure. Parts of the two towers will also be dismantled.

Cathedral management board chairman Lance Ryan said preliminary inspections of the main structure showed it was in reasonable shape, "but we won't really know the extent of the damage until we get inside the building".

The dome will have a steel frame built around it to hold the 20-tonne structure in place as it is taken down.

Opus structural engineer Jamie Lester said building and fastening the frame was a delicate operation.

"The structure we put around the dome has to be carefully designed because being old timber, it's quite brittle, and if it moves too much it could partially collapse."

It would be at least a week before the assembly around the dome would start.

Naylor Love regional manager Peter Lockhart said the removal would be a "very early in the morning job" and should take half a day to complete. It was too early to know the building's fate, but parts of it would "definitely" be saved.

Heritage consultant Carole-Lynne Kerrigan is recording and storing the Oamaru and Mt Somers stone that has fallen to the ground. She said stone with decorative features was being saved for repairs.