OUR HISTORY
- In 1927 – families were meeting each Sunday in the home of Mr & Mrs Grono in Woronora Road.
- In November 1927 Rev P.R. Riley from Sutherland Congregational Church convened a meeting to consider purchasing land for a church building. Land was purchased in Waratah Road with funds loaned by the Congregational Union of NSW.
- In October 1928 the new church hall was opened – the first in Engadine.
- That building was extended to double the size in 1935.
- In June 1948 a Formal Constitution was established with 8 founding members.
- This ‘triangle building’ was opened in 1967.
- In 1977 the church members at Engadine voted to continue as a Congregational Church and joined the Fellowship of Congregational Churches
WHAT IS CONGREGATIONAL?
‘to congregate’ = to gather together
‘congregation’ = a gathering of people
‘church’ (Gk. ecclesia in the New Testament) = those who God gathers together
A Congregational Church is a gathering of people who have responded to God’s message to be reconciled to God through Jesus his Son. Being therefore committed to Jesus as Saviour and Lord of their lives, these people also commit to worship and work with others who love Him.
Each Congregational church is independent of other gatherings of Christians, but not separate from them. We serve and worship the same Lord, and like them are part of His church of all the ages of history and of all the nations.
Other congregations of Christian believers may operate under a different ‘denominational tag’, having a different approach to managing the affairs of the church, and we recognise them to be brothers in sisters in the Lord.
As Christians we are subject to Jesus as our Head. Our distinctive feature as a Congregational Church is in recognizing the responsibility and privilege that each member has to join together in serving him and seeking his directions for all our activities, guided by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.
Congregational Churches, by that name, date from the period in England following the Protestant Reformation, and have many similarities to our Presbyterian and Baptist sister churches who share that heritage.
Our Church at Engadine belongs to the Australian Fellowship of Congregational Churches
PASTORS WHO HAVE SERVED US
- Pastors from Sutherland had oversight of Engadine through the early years, including Keith Matta who came in 1941.
- Neville Blackhall commenced as student pastor in 1964, then served full time from 1968.
- Bryce Hartin was our pastor from 1973.
- Then Roy Waters from 1977.
- Matthew Murray came to us from London in 1988.
- Lee Murray was appointed as youth pastor in 2008.
- James Stone joined us from Canberra in 2014.
- Matt Murray retired at the end of 2022.
- Roy Arellano joined us in 2023 as co-pastor with James Stone.
