St Barnabas’ redevelopment ‘imminent’

BY ALEX MCDONALD

Past members of the Sydney University Evangelical Union have been called upon to provide financial support for the reconstruction of St Barnabas church in Broadway.
A spokesman for the church said the multi-million dollar project would require donations from former parish members, as well the 600-strong congregation that has been meeting in a lecture theatre at Newtown’s Moore College ever since a fire destroyed the 150-year-old church in May 2006.
Mario Falchoni, a parish councillor who is overseeing the redevelopment, said the new church is expected to cost in excess of $10 million.
He said regular fund-raising would not be sufficient to meet the target. ‘There will be [fundraising] events as well, but we’re talking millions of dollars,’ Mr Falchoni said.
Mr Falchoni told The City News the delivery of the architectural plans to council was ‘imminent’ and likely to happen in the next month.
Once approved by City of Sydney Council, the parish hopes to commence construction as early as next year.
‘What we’d really like is to have the building finished in May 2010,” he said. “That would be exactly four years since the old building burned down.’
The new church will include several items salvaged from the fire, including the original bell tower. ‘A number of marble and stone plaques were hanging on the walls in the old building,” according to Mr Falchoni. “There were pews that survived and some of those will be utilised.’
St Barnabas, which was well known for its witty stoushes with the publican across the road via their respective message boards, was destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical fault.
‘The police’s view is that it wasn’t arson and we’ve accepted that view,’ Mr Falchoni said. ‘It was a very old building.’