Church marks hall’s 45th anniversary
ATHLONE Park Methodist Church celebrated its 45th anniversary of the building of the hall on Saturday, 2 November.
Special guest from Port Elizabeth, the Rev George Irvine, who is well-known in South Africa unveiled the anniversary plaque as he did 45 years ago on 2 November, 1968. when he was the minister at the church and blessed the opening of the hall.
Current minister, Rev Emmanuel Gabriel invited Bishop Michael Vorster to celebrate with the congregation and friends at the unveiling. It was also an afternoon of listening to people’s memories of activities in the hall over the years and the choir presented musical items.
The church has a proud history. The Athlone Park congregation raised enough funds to start construction of a new church building and on 4 April, 1959, part of the building was erected and an open air cornerstone unveiling service was held. The new church building was completed at the end of 1959.
Within two years of the church being built, the congregation increased in numbers. The Sunday school grew beyond expectation, as young families moved into the area. A need arose for hall facilities for young people and other church activities.
Fundraising for the hall commenced in 1962. Later the same decade, Rev Irvine arrived and took the fundraising drive to higher levels. With creative ideas he engendered a greater commitment and sufficient funds to commence construction of the church hall, which was officially opened on 2 November, 1968.
