The congregation of a church plant which recently began meeting is working together to build up the new gathering.

Merri Creek Anglican Fairfield was started as an offshoot of Merri Creek Anglican in Clifton Hill.

The new congregation has been meeting at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Fairfield since Sunday 24 July.

Assistant minister Reverend Patrick Senn has been overseeing the congregation under the leadership of senior minister Reverend Peter Carolane. Mr Senn said he was seeing God’s people step up and be active in ministry. He said this was different to what he had experienced in other contexts.

“I’m really grateful,” Mr Senn said. “We’ve started this new church, and I don’t feel like I’m being flogged to death at all. Everyone is stepping up and helping with kids’ ministry, leading prayers, doing welcoming and I’m just watching it all unfold.”

He said it had been a learning curve to divide resources between the two congregations in the parish.

Read more: A new church is set to launch in Fairfield

“Suddenly everything is multiplied by two and finding the best and most effective way of divvying up the resources and the areas staff focus on [has been] a work in progress,” Mr Senn said.

He said he hoped to see friendships and relationships among those in the congregation grow stronger. Mr Senn said he hoped to form a group to read the Bible, pray together and encourage each other in faith. He said he hoped the church would be on the radar of those in the area just like any other community gathering.

He said the main demographics in the congregation were families and young workers.

“Before the end of the year, I’d love to have a weekday mums and dads group that meets at the church and have that as a way of local families getting comfortable being inside a church building [and] getting to know Christians,” Mr Senn said.

He said the church was grateful to all those who had helped them begin the new congregation.

“We’re grateful to the diocese [and] the bishops for giving us their blessing, and the Parish of South Darebin for giving us the keys to their building and allowing us to move in,” Mr Senn said.

“We stand on the shoulders of our forebears. Merri Creek is grateful, and we know without their support we wouldn’t be able to be doing all this.”

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