Christ Church is a historic
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
building belonging to Rouse Hill Anglican Church of the
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
The Diocese of Sydney is a diocese in Sydney, within the Province of New South Wales of the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is evangelical and low church in tradition.
The diocese goes as far as Lithgow in the wes ...
located on Windsor Road,
Rouse Hill
Rouse Hill () is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta cent ...
, in the north-west of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Christ Church was built in 1863 and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in
Rouse Hill
Rouse Hill () is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta cent ...
.
History
The land for the church, ¾ acre in total, was donated by Robert Fitzgerald to the Bishop of Sydney in 1863.
A summary of the history of Christ Church and its buildings, as recorded by Warren ''et al.'' (2006) follows:
* 1863: Land gifted to the Bishop of Sydney
* 1863: Christ Church built for the sum of 603 pounds 3 shillings
* 1863-1869: Christ Church building used as both a church and school
* 1869: A separate school building was built on the same parcel of land
* 1875: School changed from a denominational school to a public school
* 1878: Christ Church consecrated
* 1888: School closed and pupils transferred to new Rouse Hill Public School
* 1908: School building demolished and replaced by a hall (still standing)
* 1963: School master's residence demolished
* early 1980s: Church closed
* 1998: Church re-opened as a home for the congregation from St. Stephens,
Kellyville
* 2004: Church closed when a new building for St. Stephens was completed in
Kellyville
* 2006: Development Application lodged with council to redevelop the site
* 2008: Church re-opened as home to the new Rouse Hill Anglican Church congregation
In recent years, the site has once more become active with construction commencing in 2007 on a new Ministry and Education Centre to be built alongside Christ Church. As part of this project, restoration works were undertaken to Christ Church and the 1908 hall. In March 2008, Rouse Hill Anglican Church moved back to the site from their temporary home at
Rouse Hill Anglican College
Rouse Hill Anglican College, is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, day school, located in Rouse Hill, New South Wales, Rouse Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
The school is non-selective and currently caters for over 1,600 stud ...
. The Ministry and Education Centre was officially opened on 27 April 2008 by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Dr
Peter Jensen.
Current ministry
The current rector is the Rev. Graeme Howells. The church has two services each Sunday at 10am and 5pm. The church also operates youth programs on Fridays and English classes on Mondays.
See also
*
Australian non-residential architectural styles
Australian non-residential architectural styles are a set of Australian architectural styles that apply to buildings used for purposes other than residence and have been around only since the first colonial government buildings of early Europea ...
*
List of Anglican churches in the Diocese of Sydney
This is a list of churches in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. This includes physical church buildings even if they do not currently have congregations meeting. If a congregation meets in a shared space such as a school hall, it should only be ...
References
External links
Rouse Hill Anglican Church home page
{{Anglican Church in Australia
Anglican church buildings in Sydney
Anglican Diocese of Sydney