AFTER 180 years in Heywood, the Presbyterian Church will hold its final service this Sunday, January 29, before closing the doors of its Hunter Street Church.
A Presbyterian minister first visited the town and held a service on the Fitzroy River banks in 1843, according to a history of the area compiled by Reverend Trevor Williams who was at the church in the late 1960s.
A Wesleyan Church was built on Edgar Street in 1862, but Presbyterian worship was only held whenever the Portland ministers would visit on irregular tours of the area, which became fortnightly later on, though the Presbyterians did not have a home until 1889 when they were given the old school building.
In 1904, the current church building was opened to full pews and much excitement as reported in the Portland Guardian at the time.
Times have changed though, with Reverend Rod Waterhouse, who oversees both Portland and Heywood, saying low numbers have forced the decision to close in Heywood, as well as some impacts of COVID-19.
“All those things mounted out within the last few years, the numbers are down to a bit - too small to really maintain the service here, and Portland's within pretty reasonable distance for those people,” he said.
“We haven't got a lot of people in Portland either, so we're hoping that in the joining together we’ll able to focus on just the one group of people.
Although he has only been in the area since early 2020, Rev Waterhouse said he understands what a sad day Sunday will be for the Heywood community.
“Particularly the older people will feel it strongly I imagine, they were married here, baptised here, this is where people had their funerals, it’s a sad time.”
The final Presbyterian service in Heywood will be “a thanksgiving, not a funeral,” the Reverend said.
“We could just have a regular service and shut the doors and that would be it, but there is a lot to be thankful for, 180 years of worship in this place means a lot.”
The building will remain owned by the church for the next 12 months, and can be used by the community for purposes other than Sunday services, before it will be sold along with the adjoining hall, which was built to house Sunday school and other meetings and activities.
