The Saving St Andrew’s Story 2004-2014
Ten years is a relatively short period in the history of our 174 year old institution. Nevertheless, it has been a challenging decade for the church and especially for the small group involved in the ‘Saving St Andrew’s’ venture. It is a story that deserves to be told because it illustrates how vision, determination and outstanding team work can climb mountains, in the figurative sense.
Rev Dr Margaret Mayman, Lynne Dovey, Douglas Wood and Helen Beaumont began the Saving St Andrew’s project in 2004 to tackle the major work required to upgrade and refurbish the buildings that comprise St Andrew’s on The Terrace. It was clear to the Parish Council that an upgrade was needed if we were to remain at the current location. The Saving St Andrew’s group (then a sub-set of the Parish Council but with the support of the wider membership) set about making that goal a reality. Our vision was not just about the buildings but about the desire to secure our place in the heart of Wellington City for at least the next 50 years, building on the legacy of our forebears who arrived on Petone beach in 1840 and later established their church, St Andrew’s on The Terrace, in the heart of the city.
St Andrew’s mission is strongly identified with promoting peace and justice in the community, the capital city and throughout New Zealand. Through our proximity to Parliament and the seat of Government, we are in a strong position to participate in and influence discussion and debate about the values and laws of the society in which we live and to promote St Andrew’s’ values and goals – to be a catalyst for discovery, compassion and celebration. Over the last decade, St Andrew’s, with the Rev Dr Margaret Mayman in the lead, has continued its social justice tradition, taking a prominent role in the campaigns for Civil Unions (Civil Union Act 2004), ‘anti-smacking’ legislation, which resulted in the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 and marriage equality, resulting in the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013. St Andrew’s is currently supporting the Living Wage Campaign.
With regard to the buildings, small upgrade projects had been undertaken over the years leading up to 2004 but now a plan was needed for the whole complex, especially we thought, to upgrade the wooden buildings adjacent to the church. This included seismic strengthening, upgrading the damp and draughty office and meeting spaces, replacing old plumbing, wiring and inadequate public toilet facilities, dealing with the perpetually leaking roof and sagging foundations, and installing modern disability access. The Session (predecessor to the Parish Council) had approved a previous ambitious project in the late 1990s to tackle these issues, named ‘SawBig’ (St Andrew’s Welcoming Buildings) but for various reasons, including the price tag, the proposal had foundered. This followed earlier efforts to get a major renovation project off the ground during the 1980s which was hindered by the 1987 stock market crash and subsequent recession. In 2004 it therefore seemed like a very large challenge to start again.
It was our objective too, once we had created a modern facility with more meeting rooms that could be rented out to generate income for the church, that we would in time become a fully self-sustaining enterprise. To date the success of this venture through rental revenue has exceeded our expectations. This is in no small part due to the fact that we have completed seismic strengthening ahead of many others in Wellington.
Funds and fundraising seemed the biggest hurdle. We decided to start small and looked for affordable steps we could take to begin the upgrade. Three areas were ripe for attention: inside the church, the old horse hair pews were lumpy and uncomfortable and the heating needed upgrading – the church was just plain chilly much of the year. Outside, the paint on the wooden church doors was badly blistered and peeling. These three factors combined to give a rather neglected, unwelcoming image. We wanted to urgently change this, not least because we needed to persuade potential donors and users of the church that St Andrew’s on The Terrace was a worthwhile venture for them to support.
So began the ‘Seating and Heating’ project. It involved removing the old pews, and replacing them with comfortable, individual stacking chairs imported from the Church Chair Company in Georgia, USA; and installing new gas heaters to replace the old and somewhat inadequate electric heaters that were installed under the pews. We had the doors painted ‘St Andrew’s blue’, and although this colour was later changed to ‘Persian Red’ to tone with the new STO plaster coating to the church, there was something inspirational about the vibrant blue of our forebears which gave the church the new lease on life it needed until more permanent renovations could be done. Above all, the venue became much more hospitable for concerts and other events, as well as regular church services. We were sending a strong signal that we were ‘open for business,’ ready to do more work and importantly, that we were raising funds. But where to begin with the rather daunting building upgrade?
The deteriorating physical state of the church was palpable. In 2005 the cracks in the steel reinforced concrete walls of the church were becoming so obvious that our attention shifted urgently from the state of the wooden buildings to the church building. When the Wellington City Council ‘red stickered’ the church, officially identifying it as failing to meet the seismic strength regulations and giving us 10 years to comply, that sealed it. If we were going to start somewhere it needed to be with the church and we called in the engineers (Opus International Consultants). Thus the Saving St Andrew’s project began in earnest.
In order to make the project manageable we divided the upgrade work into three phases at a total estimated cost of $3.5 million, a budget we have largely adhered to.
Phase 1: involved seismic strengthening of the Category 1 Historic Places Trust heritage church, repair of steel reinforced concrete, new roof and interior refurbishment, including building of a raised platform at the front of the church (completed 2008), designed for more participatory worship and musical performances alike. Note the present colour of the church is ‘Praise,’ named by Rev Dr Margaret Mayman when it was mixed for the church to try and ‘match’ the original concrete finish made from the sand which was ballast in the ships arriving in Wellington’s port. Ebert Construction carried out this project.
Phase 2: involved upgrade of hall building, seismic strengthening, with the lower level refurbished, a new kitchen, and the upper level refitted to expand meeting room space and build new facilities (completed 2010). The installation of heat pumps delighted both community users and the minister who no longer had to wear gloves in her office. Choice Commercial Interiors carried out this phase and Phase 3.
Phase 3: involved construction of a new Welcome Centre (as it was called during the planning and construction stages – later to be named the St Andrew’s Centre) including reception and facilities, a green room, upper level meeting rooms and offices, with a lift connecting to upper levels, and a ramp giving the complex proper disability access for the first time.
As already noted, raising $3.5 million was a daunting prospect. Early on we engaged two different professional fundraisers for short periods and talked to several others over the years about how best to approach the task. We learnt quickly that rolling up our sleeves and writing grant application and donor requests for funds ourselves got the best result. Some good advice was that potential donors were much more likely to assist if we could demonstrate that we were using our own assets before asking others for assistance. That made a lot of sense to us. During the mid-2000s the congregation faced the very difficult decision to sell the house known as Crossways in Mt Victoria, which resulted as part of the merger with the Mt Victoria Presbyterian Church in 2002. Crossways, like the church buildings, was in need of maintenance and upgrade and we decided as a church community that it would not be financially (or logistically) possible to upgrade and maintain both sites. Not everyone agreed with this decision but the clear majority did.
We have been fortunate to receive two Lotteries grants, one from the heritage fund for the church and one from the community fund for the hall building, totalling $730,000. Wellington City Council gave us two grants: one for $40,000 (from the heritage fund) and one for $70,000 to assist with operating costs as we drew down funds from our capital reserves, which was immensely helpful when we delayed the sale of Crossways for one year to allow the Mt Victoria community time to investigate whether they could raise funds to buy the property – an eventuality that did not occur. Other grants came from the TG McCarthy Trust and the NZCT for $20,000 and $40,000 respectively. We are immensely grateful for all of this support.
The St Andrew’s congregation and the wider Wellington community have been truly generous. At April 2014 we have raised around $265,000 through a combination of individual donations and fundraising effort. Events such as the sale of pews, art works using the old slate roof tiles, handbags from Cambodia, Christmas cakes, hand-made arts and crafts and some fine concerts, with generous donations of time and talent by several wonderful musicians, have all been part of the fundraising effort and have helped sustain the community spirit over the years.
Many people have been involved in the Saving St Andrew’s venture over the last 10 years. In addition to Lynne, Douglas, Margaret and Helen, strong contributors include: Roz Fraser (former Treasurer), Paul Barber (current Treasurer), Sandra Kirby (Convenor of the Parish Council 2009- 2012), Anna Smith who has ably undertaken media and public relations work, Sonia Petrie, current Parish Council Convenor and Jim Cunningham, Interim Minister. Kerry Prendergast (former mayor) and Rose O’Neill, friends of St Andrew’s from the wider community of Wellington, have also been generous with time and advice. Mention needs to be made of St Andrew’s staff, David Medland and Peter Cowley, who spent more than a year in temporary accommodation and put up with a lot of noise, dust and delays, as did Ministers Margaret and Jim. This list would not be complete without recognising the commitment of those members of the Opus team who have supported us over a long period: Jon Hill, Ben Keegan, John Rowe, Simon Farr, Rob Mitchell and Dave Gasson have been in the lead through the different phases, with many of their colleagues supporting them. They brought their experience with heritage buildings to bear on this work, always setting and maintaining a highly professional standard. The Saving St Andrew’s motto has been: do this upgrade once and do it to last. We are also grateful to the construction companies Ebert and Choice for all of their attention to detail and hard work to actually deliver each project.
There have been many trials along the way – no building project is without them. A fierce rain storm during Phase 1 doused the organ and church interior when the roof was open and plastic sheeting proved inadequate for the elements. The organ had to be dried out, dismantled and stored in its own purpose built box in the middle of the church. It was later reassembled and repaired, and fortunately damage was minimal. The hall building upgrade was challenging particularly because of the state of the exterior weatherboards, which had not seen paint in many decades and were rotten in patches. But the result was great and with prudent management we stayed within budget. The Phase 3 construction has taken twice as long as originally planned, partly due to the confined space and partly to the soft ground conditions, which necessitated a re-design of the foundations using deep piles once the demolition of the old building was complete. The coincidental neighbouring building projects by the New Zealand Medical Association and Dominion Properties’ new hotel has also delayed our builders in numerous small and unanticipated ways.
Constructing a new building and attaching it to two existing buildings has also had its practical challenges. But as I write the new St Andrew’s Centre is all but completed and opening day is planned for 4 May 2014. Let the trumpets sound and the bells ring. Hallelujah!
Lynne Dovey
Saving St Andrew’s Convenor 2004-2014
April 2014
