St Clement’s Church

Original sketch by Jonathan Hogarth

The Foundation Stone for St Clement’s was laid on the 27th July 1858 but the Church was not opened for worship until 1867. In 1969 urgent repairs were needed to maintain the old building. Advice was sought from independent sources, including the National Trust, and it was agreed to carry out major restorations and so preserve the old church which had become known as the “Little Church on the Hill”, and was for many years to come. It was also a landmark for ships coming into port.

For many years the City Emblem of Enfield depicted St. Clement’s Church in the top right hand corner. The Church is warm and welcoming with beautiful stained glass windows each telling their own story. Almost all the furniture and fittings are in memory of past parishioners.

The Foundation Stone for the Hall was laid in 1964.The building which included an office and amenities was finished in 1966 and named after a prominent pioneer family, the Ragless family. In the early nineteen eighties a room under the hall, known as the “Down Under” opened as an Op. Shop. It became a very good source of outreach as well as income and in 1999 extensions were added. For various reasons in the early 2000’s it was decided to close the shop. It was not until 2009 that the doors were opened again and a new parish venture started – the Book Shed, which is open on Saturday mornings. This building also houses a Men’s Shed which opened in February 2014 and is open on Thursdays.

By Margaret Parfitt

 

St Philip’s Church

Original watercolour by Philip Kermode

The foundation stone of an all-purpose mission hall for worship and social gatherings, to cater for the growing number of residents moving into the newly developing Broadview area, was laid on Sunday 18th September 1926. On the 5th December the first Communion Service was held.   The mission hall (the nave of the present church) was used as both church and parish hall until about 1959 when the decision was taken to convert the mission hall for the sole use of church services and to build a new hall to accommodate parish activities of the ever growing congregation.

In 1963 the Church of St Philip, Broadview, attained full parochial status and the Rev’d V.F. Meyer was inducted as the first rector in June of that year.  In those days the parish was the hub of worship and social activities for Anglicans living in the area.   For the present congregation, the parish is still a place where they can express their faith in the Anglican tradition and enjoy the caring fellowship that still exists.          By Helen Randle

CSI Malayalam Congregation, Adelaide

2018 marked the beginning of our third congregation with the establishing of the CSI Malayalam Congregation, Adelaide. This group consists of former members of the CSI Church, Adelaide that was established in May 2012. They have been worshipping at St Philip’s Church, Broadview since June 2016 and joined the Anglican Parish of Broadview and Enfield, on May 20, 2018. Prior to that they worshipped at St George’s Church, Alberton after using St Clement’s Church as their home between 2011 and 2013. Now based at St. Philip’s, they worship weekly in the Malayalam language that is spoken across the Indian state of Kerala.