OUR BELIEFS
From this land of Aotearoa New Zealand
we confess that we believe in and belong
to the one true and living God,
who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Love before all love.
We believe in God the Father,
sovereign and holy,
Creator and nurturer of all,
Father of Jesus Christ,
sender of the Holy Spirit,
and Judge of all the earth.
We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,
truly human and truly divine,
who lived among us full of grace and truth.
For our sin he was crucified
and by the power of God was raised from death,
forgiving us, setting us free and bringing to birth God’s new creation.
Now ascended, he calls us to repentance and faith
and restores us to God and to one another.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
the giver of life at work in all creation,
who inspired the Scriptures and makes Christ known,
who transforms hearts and minds
and gathers us into the community of Christ,
empowering the Church in worship and in mission.
We belong to this triune God,
women and men,
young and old,
from many nations,
in Christ he iwi kotahi tatou, [we are one people]
witnesses to God’s love in word and action,
servants of reconciliation,
and stewards of creation.
As God’s people,
we look forward in hope and joy
to the return of Christ,
to the new heaven and earth,
where evil and death will be no more,
justice and peace will flourish,
and we shall forever delight in the glory of God.
Kupu Whakapono (Confession of Faith)
Mission | to the nations…
We are the Presbyterian Church of the Wakatipu, a Church of the Nations for the Nations. Our desire is to glorify God by serving people locally and abroad.
Currently, our international mission commitment is focused on Nepal and Vanuatu. The Church Council invites support of these missions by praying, by giving, and by going.
Please read on and consider carefully this short introduction to these mission opportunities.
OUR TEAM
Ministry team - Elders - Managers
Clay Peterson
Minister
Janetta Coulter
Manna Breakfast Elder
Alison Naylor
Manna Elder
Shirley Watson
Frankton Elder
Jan Thomas
Frankton Elder
Lindsay Key
Frankton Elder
Cláudio Gonçalves
Missionary Pastor
Peter Willsman
Manna Breakfast Elder
Wagner Santana
Global Elder
Kim Wilkinson
Managers Convenor
Marcel De Leon
Elder
Raewyn Byars
Frankton Elder
Felipe Aguiar
Global Elder
Deborah Bower
Manna Breakfast Elder
Janet Rutherford
Frankton Elder
Kerry Sproll
Manna Elder
Bronwyn Hartley
Church Clerk
Bruno Silva
Global Elder
Frankton Church History
Owing to delays and disputes about the survey and sale of land in the Queenstown block between the Government and Mr Rees, a township was surveyed at Frankton and some people were induced to move from Queenstown to the new town. The courthouse was actually moved from Queenstown to Frankton and re-erected on the bank of the Kawarau River overlooking the Falls. In July 1863, all the other Government buildings followed the courthouse. However, in the same month, Vincent Pyke, the Goldfields secretary, came in state to the Wakatipu, apologies were made and Queenstown was again appointed the centre for court sittings. As a result of this confusion the courthouse, instead of being carted back to its original site, was sold to the Presbyterians, whose leader at the time was James Flint.
This building of wood and iron thus became a place of worship with seating for sixty people. It was considerably enlarged during the mid-seventies. It is likely that services were held in the courthouse before it was bought for church purposes. One of the earliest records of the Frankton Church is a pulpit Bible bearing the following inscription: “Presented by the ladies of the congregation to the Frankton Presbyterian Church, 27 October 1868.”
After doing duty for over 80 years the old church was, in 1959, replaced by a new structure, the erection of which had been greatly assisted through a bequest of £500 by Mr Peter Reid, of “Glenpanel,” a well-known farmer of the district who died in 1936. He was the son of Mr James Reid, an Arrowtown elder. The Petrov organ in the church was given by the Reid family and the communion plates by Mr G.H. Wardell, a farmer of Quaker lineage who was a faithful elder of the congregation for several years. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 10 January 1959, by Miss A. Southberg, the oldest member of the church and at the opening ceremony a tablet in memory of the Rev. Donald Ross, given by Mr Eric Skinner, of Dunedin, was unveiled by Miss Mary Salmond, who was baptised by Mr Ross in 1887.
Queenstown Church History
Before the advent of the miners toward the end of 1862, a few people had already settled around Lake Wakatipu. Very soon after the coming of the miners there is evidence that religious services were being held in Queenstown. Besides flourishing Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches, the Presbyterians were the last of the major denominations to become established in the Wakatipu.
Due to a lack of man-power, the Presbytery initially called on ministers in neighbouring parishes to give pastoral care to the Wakatipu area by visiting the area as often as possible. The ministers of Oamaru, Invercargill and Woodlands visited most frequently. At the end of February 1865, the Rev. Andrew Strobo of Invercargill recorded in his diary that he “preached at Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu in the morning and again in the evening in the Wesleyan Chapel, rode out to Arrowtown on the Monday and made what arrangements I could towards the regular supply of the district with Gospel ministrations.”
His visit was followed by visits from the Rev. Thomas Alexander, of Woodlands, who conducted divine worship “under the agreement whereby the neighbouring Presbyteries supervised the Goldfields pending a response to the signals of distress sent to the Home Country by the Southern Church.” However, it was not until the following year that the Presbyterians of the Wakatipu petitioned the Presbytery of Southland asking that a minister be secured for them as soon as possible. But over two years passed after the institution of Queenstown as a parish before the efforts of the Church Extension Committee of the Synod were crowned with success in the sending of the Rev. Donald Ross to the Wakatipu.
At first, the Presbyterians continued to use the Wesleyan Church for their services but it was soon decided to raise funds to build a Presbyterian church. An extract from the diary of Rev. Stobo reads as follows, “May 30, 1869. Mr Ross of Queenstown preached in Gaelic in the afternoon [in Invercargill] when a collection was made on behalf of church building in Queenstown.” On 3 April 1870, the Rev. Ross dedicated the new church building and held the opening service. The service was attended by an overflow congregation whose liberal donations and seat rents paid in advance, when added to the amount already collected, enabled the minister to announce that the full cost of the church, £360, had been met and that St Andrew’s would open debt free. In a report of the event the Otago Witness described the building as, “…an elegant and commodious structure built of wood, with seating for 150 worshippers.” Lighting in the church was provided by handsome hanging kerosene lamps.
In 1897, it was decided the church needed to be altered and extended to provide better facilities. The opening of the enlarged church was carried out by the Rev. W. Hewitson and the Rev. R. Blair on 2 October 1898.
In 1933 facilities were further enlarged with the addition of the Mackenzie Hall.
Beginning in the 1940s, consideration was given to building a new Presbyterian church in Queenstown. However, because the the Frankton parish needed a new church building more urgently than Queenstown, with the church there completed in 1959, building of the new St Andrew’s church in Queenstown was not commenced until September 1967, which coincided with the centennial celebrations of the Wakatipu Parish. One year later, on 2 June 1968, the old St Andrew’s was closed following a special service conducted by the Rev. Robert Coates. It had served as a place of worship for 98 years. The old St Andrew’s was sold at auction in Dunedin and was demolished to make way for new building projects.
On 21 September 1968, at 2pm, the new St Andrew’s Church at 26 Stanley Street was opened and dedicated. Some 450 people found seating for the opening ceremony, even though the church is only designed to seat 350. The dedication was carried out by the Very Rev. Dr J.D. Salmond.
St Andrew’s has preserved several historic items. Among these are early pulpit Bibles, and the cross which is made from beams that supported the ceiling and roof of the old church. The bronze fish high upon the spire is a lineal descendant of the wrought-iron fish which surmounted the bell tower of the first St Andrew’s.
The Queenstown Manses
The first manse for the Wakatipu parish was purchased at Frankton in 1870, where the minister lived until 1878, when a new manse (upper left picture) was built on Melbourne Street in Queenstown. The Melbourne Street manse remained the official residence of the Queenstown minister until 1945, when a new manse was purchased at Sydney Street (middle left picture). The Sydney Street manse was eventually sold in 1981, when it was decided to acquire a new manse on Veint Crescent (lower left picture).
The current Queenstown/Frankton manse was purchased 15 July 2002 for $382,500. This manse also houses the Minister’s office.