**This is an interview with fictional congregation member Arthur Anderton as a part of a series to commemorate 175 years of St. Mark’s Anglican Church.**
The foundation stone of St. Marks was laid in 1850 by Reverend E. Rogers.
The church was completed in 1856 but was at first just a tiny building, receiving extensions over subsequent years. A little over 100 years later, I began attending services at St. Marks with my family after moving to Picton from northern NSW. St Mark’s had its centenary celebration in 1958, and I had the pleasure of unveiling the new communion table which served as a memorial to the Larkins, a founding family of St. Marks. Ms Jane Eva Larkin was the beloved Superintendent of the Sunday School for many years until she passed away in 1944. Some former attendees of the Sunday School were present during the unveiling of the communion table, now adults with children of their own. It felt a very special occasion to be a part of.
At the celebration, I was introduced to some of the most faithful long-standing members of St. Mark’s, including a very expressive one: the organ. Did you know that before electricity, the organ was operated by a manual blower? Yes, the church employed a person whose job it was to stand near the back of the organ and work the handle of the pump so that it delivered air to the organ. That’s something we can’t quite picture happening at today’s services! The organ continues to be a part of the worship music ensemble at St. Mark’s. Although its absence in the future would in no way take away from the legitimacy of worship on Sundays, it is still a nice little nod to the past.
In the two decades after the foundation stone of St. Marks was laid, Picton’s population almost tripled, and with that came a growing need for more worship meetings, not only at St. Mark’s but in other areas making up what we know as the Wollondilly. In the 1920’s, the parish Reverend Powys wrote of travelling 4,000 miles in one year by motor car and horse to attend various services within the expansive Picton parish! Fortunately, we don’t have to cross rough tracks for miles or flooded rivers to attend services. I like to think of this as a reminder of how earnest and faithful people were about meeting together as Christians in worship of God.
The building and grounds at St. Marks carries with it an abundance of priceless history about its pioneering members, architecture and purpose. Brick-by-brick the church was built, and underwent multiple changes in structure over time – several new roofs, for instance. The people of St. Mark’s have also been built up, have changed, have been reinforced and renewed by our good God, the best architect and planner of our lives. A lot changed in Picton over 100 years, and more still over the 75 years that followed on. You can imagine how bustling Picton town is today in comparison to when the site for St. Mark’s was first considered by Major Henry Antill. I take comfort in what will never change – what is eternal, regardless of how a building might weather; how faces will change and populations will grow. God will always remain with his people.
Written by Rachel Winn
