General News
22 October, 2025
New church opens with community support
REPRESENTATIVES from different denominations came together last Saturday to mark the opening of Stawell’s new Seventh Day Adventist church building. The Stawell congregation took possession of the old Salvation Army citadel in August after holding their last service at the old church at the corner of Clifton Avenue and Stanton Street.
Stawell church members decided to buy the citadel in Main Street due to its size and superior facilities.
Their new church has a larger hall, meeting rooms, a function room and commercial kitchen.
It was constructed in 1934 on land donated by a Mrs Butt and is considered a building of architectural significance as it demonstrates original design qualities of an interwar Free Classical style.
The old Seventh Day Adventist church in Stanton Street was built in approximately 1908 and is expected to be sold in coming months.
A crowd of eighty people attended Saturday’s service conducted by Pastor Marius Jigau.
Representatives of the Catholic, Uniting, Lutheran and Salvation Army churches attended Saturday’s service as well as Northern Grampians Mayor Karen Hyslop and members of the wider Stawell community.
Church elder Garry Tierney said a decision was made not to dedicate the building as it had been previously dedicated as a house of worship by the Salvation Army in 1934.
He said instead, people were asked to rededicate themselves to God.
“It was a service to dedicate each member to God, it was about rededicating our lives to the community,” he said.
Mr Tierney said the new premises were a great leap forward for the local church.
“There’s no comparison. It’s a completely above our expectations. It is a beautiful little worship area, it has got a commercial kitchen so we can prepare food for the public, it has a beautiful hall with various rooms for the children and youth, an office, centrally heated with a little backyard and garage so it’s just wonderful really,” he said.