Andrew Leigh

I spoke in parliament today about the 50th anniversary of St Margaret's Uniting Church in Hackett. It's also a good time to mention that I'll be holding my annual Welcoming the Babies event at the St Margaret's Hall this coming Saturday, 29 March, 10.30-12.30.

St Margaret's Uniting Church, 24 March 2014

On 7 December 1963 there appeared in the Canberra Times a notice of a new Presbyterian church and Sunday school to be meeting in Watson, Hackett and Woden. The first meeting of St Margaret's church occurred on 2 February 1964, and it was my great pleasure on 2 February 2014 with my son, Sebastian, to attend the 50th anniversary service for St Margaret's Uniting Church in Hackett. I acknowledge Reverends Kerry Bartlett and Brian Brown, John Goss and St Margaret's community for making us so welcome.

I commend to the House the publication reflecting on 50 years of St Margaret's Church, which tells the story of the church's evolution including the episode in the 1970s where is it notes:

'The appointment of a Methodist minister placed considerable stress on the understanding of cooperation between Presbyterians and Methodists.'

The church has done a great deal to build the local community through its Stepping Stones program, and through Ross Walker Lodge which received a grant through the nation building programs in the global financial crisis to provide housing for Canberrans with disabilities. I commend the St Margaret's community for a great 50 years achievement and the many more decades of achievement to come.