THE Rosewood Uniting Church congregation will celebrate their 150 year anniversary on Sunday, May 25, and have issued an open invitation to the community to join them on the day.

Parishioner and Church Council Secretary Joyce Rieck has been a part of the history since she was a toddler attending Sunday school classes.

The church in Rosewood dates back to when the Congregational Church was established in the rural settlement.

In 1977, there was a nationwide vote to decide if parishioners from the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian denominations wanted to combine to become the Uniting Church.

“We call it the Uniting Church, but its proper name is the Uniting Church of Australia,” Joyce said.

“It wasn’t really a combined denominational thing, it was a brand new church for Australia with a combination of three different denominations.”

When the Uniting Church was inaugurated, the different denominations adapted to fit.

“The Methodist Church as a denomination is what I call a hierarchical church, they have a leader at the top who makes all the decisions and everyone falls in line with that,” she said.

“The Congregational Church, by its name, is one where decisions are made by individual congregations.

“At Rosewood, we decided to join but there are still two Congregational churches in Ipswich who decided not to and continued as Congregational.

“Presbyterians are very much the same, they had a choice, and some joined, but there’s still continuing Presbyterian churches in Queensland.”

Joyce said there was importance in the word ‘uniting’ and not united, because there was always hope other denominations would join.

Church on a Sunday was once very mainstream and a predictable routine for many families.

The only difference was their denominations and religious rituals like confirmations, baptisms and communion.

Parents sat in the pews and children tried hard to sit still until the call for them to leave and take part in Sunday school classes and activities.

Right into the early 2000s, it was typical for families to gather after church for tea and coffee, chatting and catching up with friends and making new ones.

While all these things still happen, it’s not as common as it once was.

“I have my sister with me at the moment and she grew up in the church and she’s a teacher,” Joyce said.

“When she came to teach at Rosewood State School in the mid 1970s, most of the children in her class she’d already taught at Sunday School.

“Rosewood was better for it and a more cohesive community at that time.”

Joyce said a significant event in the late 1980s was a musical production called ‘Lightshine’, it drew singers from local churches to Rosewood and in the 1990s a more modern style of music was introduced for worship.

There have been many musicians leading worship over the years, one of them is Shirley Boughen who began playing the church organ for services and other events when she was 13.

It wasn’t just music and worship leading the community to God, lifelong friendships were forged and romances blossomed under the watchful eyes of church elders.

Over its 150-year lifespan some members have been recognised as exemplar. Both Joyce and Isabelle Kearsley were awarded OAM’s for their work in the community.

In the past 24 years, nine parishioners have been made Lions Citizen of the Year, three were nominated by the church and the others by local clubs and organisations.

A church does not last for 150 years if all they do is dwell on their history, even if it is a rich history like the Rosewood Uniting Church.

It goes the distance when there are people willing to take a chance to lead the community through change while holding onto strong Christian values and teachings.

“I feel that the strength of our church is that we’re involved in the community, it’s our focus and our mission statement is sharing God’s love, we do that by caring for everyone,” Joyce said.

“At the moment our big focus is on our Goodwill Op Shop, which is going gang busters.

“We not only provide good stock at reasonable prices but there’s an atmosphere of caring for people and offering friendship.”

As the church enters its 150th year, those who are part of it have reached out in friendship and invited all to join and learn more about Christian teachings.

On Sunday, May 25, the anniversary celebrations begin with a morning tea and a chance to share memories. It’s an open invitation and all they ask if you plan to join them that you Rsvp for catering purposes.