Te Kowhai heritage needs your help
Story by Ruth Smart.
St Stephen’s church is the small white church just north of the garage in Te Kowhai. Originally built on a site in Collie Rd in 1903, it was moved by Mr V Jack to the ‘new’ village, and the site donated by Mr Vic Henton in 1955.
This church is now over 115 years old. Regular services have been held in this building since in was built and consecrated in 1903. This historic building is possibly the oldest within the village itself. It is one for us all to treasure and protect for future generations.
Today, regular services are held on the first and third Sunday of the month. There will also be Christmas services in December.
Compared to the ‘baby boomer years’ when there was a roll of 27 children at Sunday School with three teachers and a Ladies Guild who extended a caring hand to the community, we, like many mainstream churches, reflect the modern times, with a regular congregation of ten. Less during the winter months.
Recently, as you’ve passed by, you may have noticed the door was repaired. The cost of this was met with a Heritage grant from Waikato District Council. We have also completed the rewiring of both the church and the annex, to ensure they are safe.
Our initial investigation of the church has shown it is suffering from water damage and in need of major maintenance as well as painting. We have one quote for the repair and paint but are well aware the actual state of the timber will not be really known until the paint has been stripped back. We are also aware that the longer this maintenance is deferred, the worse the state of the building will become.
Our initial quote for repairs was $15,000 but we know we will need to raise more than this. Given that there is further maintenance required on the tea room, anything raised above the requirement for the church, would still be used for the church buildings here at St Stephens.
Donations
Your support is needed. The congregation invite you to help us with our building project.
Cheque: Payable to: Holy Trinity Ngaruawahia
Post: St Stephens Church, c/- R Smart, 26 Willowbrook Lane, R D 8, Hamilton 3288
In person: Come along to a service on Sunday and pop a donation in an envelope on the plate.
Please contact Ruth Smart for internet banking details if needed. Phone: 829 7655 evenings or email ruthsmart@xtra.co.nz
We're talking new year resolutions...
Tidying the house before going to bed each night, meditating upon waking or taking the stairs at work.
What’s something quick, or easy, that you started doing that made a major positive change in your life?
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.8% Summer
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35.8% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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