St David’s is a small but vibrant church community. We are a predominantly older group which means there is a wealth of experience to be enjoyed. It is a place where ‘everybody knows your name’, making it a comfortable and comforting space to be in, while being challenged and grown in the Christian faith.
Some years back, the parish made the decision to sell their property and for many years they rented a space at Woodlands Road Methodist Church. In early 2023 we relocated again. Both of these huge decisions were met with 100% buy-in, this community thrives on their all-in attitude.
Our last move was to the Enliven Centre in the Botanical Gardens on Queen Street in Timaru, where we continue to meet at 9.30am on Sundays. We had previously used this site annually for our Big Day Out event so we knew it fairly well. The facility is a former bowls clubroom and has everything in it that we need to function - a good kitchen, a piano, power-point projection, comfy chairs, and all of this located in a wonderful garden that we don’t have to attend to!
Our services of worship are relaxed, considered, warm and thoughtful. While we know one another well, we remain open and excited to welcome others into our ‘family’.
Oversight and assistance are given by our two denominational partners, the Methodist Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ). However, we are welcoming of people whoever they are, and whether they’re seeking or looking to settle.
Key personnel are:
Parish Council – Linley Brooks (chair), Frank Hooke, Margaret Sheddan, Danny Lyons, Melva Poulter, Morven Sidal (Secretary), Margaret Johnson (Senior Lay Person), and Rev Anne Stewart (Minister)
Rev Anne Stewart, joined us in October 2022. Anne formerly served in a church in Christchurch. She and her husband Martin live in a recently renovated church in Totara Valley, where they grow fruit and vegetables and hens. They love to share this space when they can with their three adult children and their families and anyone else who comes by.
A lot of Anne’s preaching involves stories. She is drawn to a spacious God whose love connects and inspires us.
Margaret Johnson is a long-time member of St David’s church having joined in 1972 when she married and came to live in the area of Marchwiel. She and her husband Bevan have 3 adult daughters and 2 adult grandchildren. In 2004 Margaret felt a call to become more than a “pew sitter” and give something back to St David’s. For 13 years she has been the Senior Lay Person and she became a Lay Preacher in 2009. God is a God of love and this simple message together with an “attitude of gratitude” is the basis of her preaching.