The village of Craven was settled in the early years of the twentieth century. For many years there was no church in the village, but this was to change in 1916 with the construction of the Union Church.
Designed by Mr Fredericks of Killara, tenders were called for the erection of the weatherboard building in April 1916 and construction was awarded to Mr Arthur Griffiths of Copeland.1
The opening ceremony, on 11 November 1916, was performed by Mrs Alice Stupart of Sydney, a prominent identity in religious and philanthropic circles, and the service was conducted by the Rev W L Patison, Chairman of the NSW Congregational Union.2
The church was used for services by several Christian denominations including Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans and Salvationists.3
During the 1940s a group of community members began following the teachings of the Open Brethren or Christian Brethren and it appears that they also held services in the church.4
Additionally, the building was used for community gatherings, albeit usually of a religious nature. On several occasions lantern lectures were held, usually promoting missionary work.5
The church eventually fell out of use and, in 2005, Government approval was given for the sale of the church land and the distribution of funds held to support evangelical and missionary work.6
Author: Penny Teerman
References:
1 Gloucester Advocate Saturday 18 November 1916 Pg 2
2 Ibid.
3 Gloucester Advocate Wednesday 19 January 1921 Pg 2
4 Craven – A History 1903-2009
5 Gloucester Advocate – various editions
6 NSW Government Gazette No. 51 dated 6 May 2005 Pg 1656
