Renovation of St.Sava Church Island Bay Wellington

GOAL

The St.Sava Church Community are the proud holders of a piece of Wellington's history. Our church buildings at 75 The Parade, Island Bay are built in original early settlers’ style and have been serving the Christian religion in Wellington for over 100 years. The entrance of the church is graced with beautiful pohutukawa trees which are also 100 years old. Sadly, the buildings and the infrastructure are in a dire condition. The trees are in need for attention. We can't afford all the required refurbishment works. We are raising funds to fix the buildings, the internal infrastructure and bring the church to the present building standards and required compliance.

We need your help now. We would be grateful for any donation which would add to our funds.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

The original buildings were built in 1906 to be a church and home for the St. Francis Brotherhood of Island Bay. They served the community of early settlers of the area, many of them being of Italian origin. Some Italian families still remember the place and the ceremonies they participated in. The Serbian community purchased the property from St. Francis in 1968, refurbished the deteriorated buildings by generous giving and volunteering and dedicated the church to St. Sava. In 1969, the first liturgy in Serbian language was served in the refurbished St.Sava church. From then, over fifty years now, it has been a place of prayer and charitable work, where people connect and share.

In 2019, as part of our 50 years’ jubilee, we are rising funds to restore our church again. Giving a little can make a lot to preserve this historic treasure of Wellington and our community.

ST. SAVA

St. Sava is a Serbian medieval prince from the line of Nemanjic family. He is the first Serbian Archbishop, lawyer and educator, who established the independent Serbian Christian Orthodoxy 800 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sava

With thanks, Serbian Community of Wellington and St.Sava church.