Anglican Priest Rev. Joy Harris at the site by the Church.
The Uniting/Anglican Church congregation is expanding their Foodbasket program and services offered to the Canowindra community with a new community centre. Existing groups and activities will continue and new groups will be formed according to need.
Various agencies will be involved. Worship will still occur in various forms and at times suitable to the community.
The site is getting prepared for construction and it’s expected that the centre will be operational about May next year.
The centre will be a new way of being “church” and witnessing the Gospel locally. It will provide care and support through relationships, activities, and a safe environment based on the love and grace of Jesus for all who enter.
It is planned that a coordinator be appointed to oversee the activities of the centre. The funding for this position is still to be secured.
In 2014, planning began to develop the Uniting Church property in a way that better enabled the Gospel to be actioned through worship and service. They sold property to realise the funding requirements and the building is currently underway.
A new Foodbasket pantry will be part of the centre and will operate in the worship area.
Following an extensive Needs Analysis, lonely older people, dysfunctional families, single parents and youth suffering mental health issues are identified target groups.
A Reference Group was formed with various community groups represented to oversee the development. After a gap waiting for various issues to be resolved, this group is currently being reconvened.
The 30 Foodbank volunteers who prepare orders and serve meals will be distributing about 80 food hampers each Christmas free to clients.
By Marion Wilson