St Andrew’s Wamboin
St Andrew’s Church Wamboin is located in the well-established rural, residential community of Wamboin, situated approximately 30 kilometres from the national capital and comprising over 2,000 residents who live on properties ranging from 5 to 40 acres in size.
Wamboin has its own community association, community hall, newsletter, volunteer bush fire brigade, pony club, cub and scout groups, a farmers’ market and, more recently, a women’s group.
St Andrew’s numbers among the congregation families who were pioneers in the district when Canberra was first established and who have a strong bond with the land and environment of Canberra and the surrounding district.
Worship and discipleship
St Andrew’s is an Anglican worshipping community in Wamboin, which attracts people from surrounding communities. It was first established in 1985, and early services were held in the local community hall. It derives its identity both from being a member of the world-wide Anglican community in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, from Anglican traditions, and from its engagement with the local Wamboin community. It is part of the Parish of St John’s in Canberra (established in 1841) with whom it has an ongoing formal and valued relationship.
Fellowship
The St Andrew’s church was built with donations for construction costs, furniture and fittings and land from early residents in Wamboin, and is sustained from gifts from Christians living in Wamboin. St Andrew’s congregation is small enough to enable all members to know each other and to enjoy each other’s company.
Subject to Diocesan and Parish practice, decisions for the church are made by the whole congregation at annual and quarterly meetings, rather than through a representative council. People from all Christian backgrounds are actively welcome to join in services conducted at St Andrew’s. St Andrew’s also has a strong association, and intends to deepen the relationship, with St Peter’s Sutton. Church services alternate between the two, and there are currently a number of people who attend both services and participate in joint Lenten Studies.
Pastoral care, inclusion and outreach in the community
St Andrew’s has visibility, and is accepted as an integral part of the Wamboin community. St Andrews’s aims to become the heart of the Wamboin community – as a welcoming, generous and caring Christian community. While its primary mission is to provide a welcoming place of worship, fellowship and service for its members and members of the Wamboin community, its concept of service extends beyond geographic borders to needs within the Parish and overseas. St Andrew’s strives to provide a leadership role in the Wamboin community through active promotion of, and engagement in, community festivals and events that position the church as a friendly environment for gatherings to take place.
Examples include:· an annual blessing of the animals; a Christmas nativity tableau, developed to include children in the retelling of the Christmas story; a patronal festival celebration that enables members of St John’s, St Peter’s and the local community to celebrate together;·support for and a presence at community association events such as the Christmas carol service and the annual fireworks display;· the construction of a memorial wall as a community resource;·regular coffee and dessert evenings held in local homes in Wamboin; a church choral group; and a strong women’s group that meets regularly, using the church as its meeting place, encouraging fellowship and friendship among the women in the Wamboin community. Internationally, St Andrew’s also sponsors a child in Sri Lanka, cared for through International Children’s Aid.
In Summary
This combination of St Andrew’s uniqueness, its attention to worship and discipleship and community inclusion and outreach, combined with a deep sense of spirituality and fellowship, provides the framework in which St Andrew’s strives to develop its community identity, and to strengthen the impact of Christianity in its local environment.
The following articles appeared first in In Community, July 2007 and were written by Claire Ayling.
St Andrew’s Church – the ‘heart’ of our community
The small church building on the corner of Norton and Poppet Road in Wamboin is fast becoming a focal point for the Wamboin community. Our regular church services are well attended with members of the congregation also attending working and gardening bees to keep the building in order.
It is very satisfying to see the building now being used during the week as a form of ‘outreach’ to the wider community. Following on from the production of the quilts made for the raffle for St Johns last year, it was suggested by a number of people to carry on and extend the craft group.
An article was written for the local community newspaper entitled ‘ How well do you know your neighbour?’ At the first meeting where we expected about eight people, we actually welcomed twenty two and at last count there are over forty ladies coming along.
The proposal was to meet once a month but demand has determined we now meet once a week with a walking group meeting twice a week and a book club meeting once a month! The group iscalled the WWoWs (wonderful women of Wamboin) and is mainly social, but with a strong sense of community, and projects into the wider community are enjoyed.
We have knitted jumpers for babies with AIDS in Africa ( we sent off over 70 last week) and have also sewn kimono dressing gowns to help with a project run by the Bosom Buddies organisation. The ladies are also assisting with the St Johns Care Winter Appeal and are looking for projects into the future. It is wonderful to see this group of local ladies who may not be church goers enjoying the environment of St Andrews, and to see our lovely little church being used as place where the community comes together.
SUNDAY SERVICES
9.00 a.m. MORNING PRAYER 1st Sunday in the month
9.00 a.m. HOLY COMMUNION 3rd Sunday in the month
