St Matthew’s Church has been ministering to the Holland Park Community for over 105 years. A lot has changed in the parish over the years.
Our faith community started with informal gatherings of Anglicans in their homes for prayer and fellowship in 1901. Eventually, the ‘Little Church’ was built in Burlington Street in 1903 as a part of the Holland Park Church Mission. The ‘Little Church’ was dedicated to St Matthew on St Matthew’s day September 21, 1918. The Anglicans gathering in worship outgrew the little church and so the Combined Church and Hall was opened in 1928 (this is still in service today as our current hall). Our current brick church was dedicated in 1958.
Back in the day, it was suits for men, beautiful dresses, gloves and hats for the ladies and Sunday best for the children. Services were drawn from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and often ‘sung’ all the way through.
The Parish church calendar included:
- The Church picnic at Wellington Point or Redland Bay by bus;
- The Church Fete featuring guessing games, craft, cooking, drinks and BBQ stalls with visiting police vehicle, motorbikes or firetrucks for children to explore ... and of course, the water balloon game where you would pay 20c to attempt to drench Parish Council members - although the Priest seemed to attract the most attention! Performances by the various church groups (mens and ladies groups, Sunday school, choir etc.) and the local schools, girl guides and boy scouts also performed.
- The Christmas Pageant with its central feature the Nativity play; and
- AVISS - August Vacation in Sunday School.
Today it’s all informal clothing, modern worship with traditional hymns, informal services with modern songs and Messy Church with activities and fun for all ages. So, our forebears (and others who may not have been to Church for a while) will notice a big difference at St Matt’s!
But what has remained consistent throughout the years is our parish’s:
- Deep desire to be faithful to God’s calling in our own age - so leaving behind that which is no longer relevant to the current age, and adapting to ensure that we remain relevant to our community while holding tight to eternal truth;
- Hearty welcome to all those who visit our Church; and
- Determined outreach and ministry to our surrounding community.
We continue to consecrate our Parish for His Glory. Our prayer remains that we will continue to further build His Kingdom here at Holland Park now and for many years to come.
We can only pray that God will continue to be Glorified through the continued, faithful ministry of His people at St Matthew’s for many years and that we may be worthy successors of those faithful parishioners who preceded us.
