Garston Church – Notice to Parishioners
The Parish Pastoral Council of St Josephs Parish Queenstown (“the Council”) wishes to bring to the attention of all parishioners that there has been an approach made by the James McNamee of Garston to acquire the Garston church and adjoining lands from the Diocese. The Council having considered all relevant matters is inclined to accommodate the request of the McNamee Family subject to: 1 Receiving comments from members of the Catholic Community, Queenstown Lakes, Kingston, Athol and Garston; and Approval and ratification by the Bishop.
Reasons for the proposed disposition include:
(a) The McNamee Family donated all of the relevant land to the Diocese some 100 years ago;
(b) The Garston church is in a state of serious disrepair and needs to be either demolished or repaired;
(c) At present, church services at Garston are undertaken by Father Jaime sometimes in the houses of the local Garston Catholic Community;
(d) Any such arrangement would secure the church for the use of the relevant Catholic Communities for up to 25 years at no cost with the McNamee Family agreeing to undertake all restorative works and pay all incidental costs so as to allow ongoing use of the church for the purpose of worship.
The purpose of this notice is to invite members of the Catholic Community to let their thoughts be known and in this regard, please contact Revell Buckham on 021 435 4105 or Alan Brown phone 03 442 9086 (by the 15th day of February 2019) with any questions or comments that you may have.