Building Project
“Buildings are for people, and people matter to God”
Pledging Information
A four week pledging period was launched at our Sunday services on November 3, 2024. You can find here links to the pledging information booklet and the pledging form, as well as a recording of the sermon from Sunday in case you missed it. A pledging workshop was held on Sunday November 10. The recording of the workshop and the handout are also linked below.
The conversation so far...
St Mark’s UNEchurch is here to help people find and follow Jesus. Our prayer is that 3000 people in the Armidale region would find and follow Jesus. It’s a bold prayer, but we pray it asking God to be at work through us, and through all the other churches of the region, so that thousands of people will be forgiven and free in Jesus.
God has been building our church for over 60 years. We have two congregations meeting each Sunday and as our Church and ministry have grown, our building and facilities have not grown with it. Our morning congregation doesn’t meet in our own building because it does not fit, and its temporary location across the road in the university lecture theatre has many draw backs. Our facilities are old and can no longer support the growing congregation God is sending our way. In fact, we haven’t invested in our facilities since 2008 when the temporary Ministry Centre demountable building was reclaimed from UNE. It was in 1997/98 that the mini-kids and parent’s room building work was undertaken. The main Chapel building remains much as it was when it was built in the early 1970s.
It is clear that new facilities are needed to support our current congregations, and they will be needed to support our future ministries. The St Marks Building Committee (SMBC) exists to bring these new facilities into reality.
The Building Committee’s vision is that new building facilities will provide a long term gospel resource for the spreading of God’s Word in Armidale, abroad, and to further our unique gospel spreading opportunities on a university campus.
Who is on the Building Committee?
The current building committee includes: Bronwyn Myers, Cameron Smith, Noel Flavel, Nick Taber and Stuart Heap. Feel free to reach out to any of these members individually or to the committee itself via email (building@unechurch.org).
History of St Mark's Buildings
Project Progress so far...
First Steps
The first meeting of the new St Mark’s Building Committee (SMBC)
November 2021:
A church-wide survey was held about our facilities and requirements
Gaining Clarity
Building Project webpage and committee email established to ensure communication, consultation, and participation of all members of the St Marks Chapel congregation
April 2022:
The committee consulted the Diocese about the viability and option for relocation
May 2022:
The SMBC presented to Chapel Council and proposed the establishment of the Capital Works & Maintenance Reserve for reserving funds each year for future building requirements beyond the current project
June 2022:
Dilapidation report on existing Chapel Building and Ministry Centre commissioned
July 2022:
The SMBC presented an update at the Church Annual Business Meeting.
October 2022:
The Building Committee and Chapel Council held a combined meeting on 31 Oct to review the progress of the building project and discuss the way forward.
December 2022:
The Building Committee was interviewed at all three services on Sun 4 Dec to update the Church on some of the progress of the project to date. The Building Committee held a Q & A evening on Mon 5 Dec to update everyone on the project so far and to answer questions.
Investigating Options
Two architects were engaged to offer their professional opinion on our building options and feasibility on our site:
A) Refurbish and extend the existing Chapel building
B) Build brand new facilities in conjunction with the existing Chapel
April 2023:
The two architect reports were received by the committee with recommendations and options.
May 2023:
In addition to the two options investigated by the architects, a third option (Option C) was investigated by the committee, involving a modular, more cost-effective building solution and materials.
June 2023:
A significant building project update was provided at the Church ABM.
August 2023:
The Options Survey was conducted over 3 weeks, with congregation members given the opportunity to indicate which option should pursue:
October 2023:
The Options Survey results were released, showing a clear preference for Option C (the modular, more cost-effective option).
Plans Forming
17 October 2024:
Building Mega Update night was held at Chapel, bringing everyone up-to-date, and presentations from HTS Tentiq and an architect from Stanton Dahl were received. See the recording of the night in the video playlist linked below.
November 2024:
With the core concepts of the plan outlined, pledging for the new building began. See the top of this page for more information.
Across the last few years there have been multiple updates on the progress of the building project, many of which are recorded on video and are available at the link below.
