The grand old lady of Baring Square East will mark her centenary on March 8 with a celebration service and lunch, and parishioners are preparing to welcome former minister and Methodist leader Reverend Peter Taylor to preach at the 10am service. Parish steward Judith Crozier said registrations were slowly coming in and organisers hoped more people would join to share memories and mark the building’s milestone.
Taylor, who led the parish during the 2010 earthquake, presided over the church’s official reopening after extensive strengthening and restoration. Crozier recalled the nervous period after the quake and the wider church’s financial support that made reopening possible. Restoration work began in 2019 and the restored building was officially celebrated on 18 February 2023.
Organisers are collecting photographs, stories and memorabilia to display at the centennial. Items can be dropped at the church office in Baring Square East on Thursdays and Fridays, 9am–noon. Registrations for the March 8 event are being taken by email at office@ashburtonmethodist.church.
Methodism has been woven into Ashburton life for more than 150 years. Worship began on Wills Street before moving to the present site. Following the 1920 amalgamation of Primitive and Wesleyan congregations, a new stone and brick church was commissioned; Messrs Tuckers Ltd won the tender in December 1923 to build a 450‑seat church with a later gallery for 75. The foundation stone was laid in April 1925, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Methodism in the town, and the new church opened in March 1926 with an initial debt of £1,000 that was cleared within a decade.
Major exterior repairs were carried out in 1954, including replacement of nearly 2,000 bricks in the tower. In 1999 a viewing tower opened to visitors but was later closed after earthquake damage. The original adjacent wooden church served as a hall until it was demolished in 1959; a later hall was removed when the site was sold for the civic centre and library.
“Our church is in a unique position — the only Methodist church between Christchurch and Dunedin,” Crozier said. As Hebrews 10:24–25 urges believers not to neglect meeting together, the centennial will be a chance for the community to gather, remember and look ahead.