Welcome to Mt Barker Uniting

The Uniting Church SA seeks to be an innovative, growing church proclaiming Jesus, empowered by the Spirit to transform God’s world. Read More.

The Uniting Church is a young church – formed on 22 June 1977, when the Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches united to become one. The Basis of Union is the document which affirms our Christian faith and is the guide to what is central to the life of the Uniting Church in Australia. Read the Basis of Union here.

 

 

Safe Church Policies

Mt Barker UC abides by the Safe Church Policies and Procedures of the Uniting Church.

You can find all information related to Safe Church HERE.

 

The Uniting Church in Australia believes that all people are made in the image of God and as such we should accept every individual regardless of race, age, creed or gender.

As a Christian community, we believe that God reaches out to us in love and acceptance and that our relationships with each other should express love and respect and not be abused.

As a community of faith we are committed to providing a place in society where human beings can explore what it means to be made in the image of God.

As an expression of this commitment, the Uniting Church in Australia recognises its responsibility to provide worshipping and pastoral communities that are free from abuse and that provide safe environments for all people to explore and express their faith in the Gospel.

 

Vision, Mission and Goals

of the Mt Barker Uniting Church

 

Our Vision

To be the heart of God open to the community.

Our Mission

To provide and build a spiritually enriching Christian community that creatively and courageously explores ways for people in our region to encounter God.

Our Goals

• We will offer two Services of Worship each Sunday
• We will continue to offer a range of community support services to assist people in our community who face barriers or challenges in their everyday lives.
• We will cherish one another as members of God’s family in Mount Barker through offering sensitive pastoral care
• We will make the inclusion of children, youth and their families in both our Sunday services a high priority.
• We will encourage Different Groups and programmes which build people up in love and discipleship.
• We will maintain our property in a safe, fit-for-purpose condition.
• We will grow our Church with Mount Barker’s growth

The Church Buildings

In the early 1840’s the first Primitive Methodist religious services were held under a gum tree on the bank of the Mt Barker creek.

A key figure in these early churches was John Dunn who is considered to be the father of flour milling in South Australia. John Dunn was a devoutly religious man who was also a generous benefactor to the Mt Barker community. He recalls in his memoirs that the Primitive Methodists had asked for a room in which to preach their sermons. He offered them the front room of his house on Sundays.

The first Wesleyan Methodist Church was a slab hut built on land along Cameron Road near Dunn’s flour mill. The Wesleyan Methodists acquired a large block of land in Mann Street where the first stone church, the Methodist Lecture Hall, was built in 1851. Building of a parsonage followed in 1857.

Worship Services in Mann Street have continued without a break since 1851 to the present day.

The Methodist Lecture Hall with extensions, is now used for Kids’ Church, Playzone, Hungry No More and many other church and community activities.

The Mt Barker Uniting Church – Dunn Memorial – (previously the Methodist Church) was built next to the Lecture Hall and dedicated to the service of God on 16th September 1884.John Dunn donated the cost of the new building.

Another building, added in 1924 was used for many years as a Kindergarten and Sunday School and is now used as a drop-in centre.

This information is from an article by J K Stokes in Ancestry.com and other sources. For more details click here.See also “Fixed to The Wind” in the Mount Barker library.

The Pipe Organ

The Mt Barker organ has 2 manuals and a pedal keyboard, 13 speaking stops, 3 couplers, with mechanical tracker action. It was built in 1884 by Fincham and Hobday. This firm built perhaps ten new organs and rebuilt many others before being taken over in 1894 when a Mr Dodd purchased the business.

Only two instruments remain substantially untouched, this and its twin at the Uniting (Congregational) Church, Port Adelaide. Both instruments are notable. Of the two organs the instrument at Mt Barker is regarded as the finer due largely to the acoustic quality of its position in the church.

 This information is from the Organ Historical Trust of Australia records. Click here for the organ specifications.