Trinity Closure Report
March 2, 2014The Church Council received this report at their meeting last week and suggested that it be circulated to bring our members up to date. As you know, the property has been sold and much work has still to be done prior to the settlement date of 30 June, 2014.
Sadly, after some 60 years of operation, all the Gym Club equipment has been donated to a worthy recipient, namely the Bulleen and Templestowe Youth Club. In lieu of any payment, they plan to make a donation to the Cancer Council in the name of Trinity Gym Club.
The future of the Trinity organ has been a very protracted exercise. We had several options: leaving it behind – quite possibly to be demolished as part of any redevelopment; or paying approximately $7,000 for it to be removed and stored, with the uncertainty of a sale sometime in the future.
We advertised it on a specialist organ website and had several enquiries but no firm interest. As time was short, it seemed reasonable to offer it on a ‘free to a good home’ basis, and recently we had an enquiry from Father Utri of St Anne’s Church in East Kew. After inspecting the organ, they have now given us a letter of intent and we expect a final response by late May. An organ specialist firm did offer to remove it at no charge and this is our fall-back position.
We are hoping to hold an ‘Organ Farewell’ recital so that past members of Trinity can hear their organ played for the last time. We would also invite members of the St Anne’s congregation to attend and hear the excellence of their new acquisition. This occasion has been tentatively set for Sunday afternoon, 1 June. If all goes to plan, St Anne’s have kindly invited us to make a return visit when the organ is finally installed in its new home.
The Church Council last week approved the very reasonable $6,000 cost of bringing two beautiful stained glass windows here to help with the transformation of the choir room into a chapel area.
The larger stained glass window will be divided into 3 sections, fitted into timber frames, and each hung on the inside of the three existing choir room windows. The other window will also be framed and placed in a suitable location.
Still be to be moved here when Trinity is vacated are: a baby grand piano, two foundation stones and the large external cross. The plan is that the cross will be reduced in size and hung as a centrepiece on the brick wall in the new chapel area.
Brian Hurnard