David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 23 August, I attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the Blakehurst Baptist Church. The 50th anniversary celebration was a great community event. The church plays an important role in Blakehurst and, indeed, more broadly in the Banks electorate. After starting in 1965 in South Carlton, it moved to Blakehurst in 1967. It is led by the Reverend Grae McWhirter, who has served as senior pastor since 2002, and his family has been part of the church community for some decades. The church has a long history of service in the local community, including activities like playgroup classes, English classes, craft groups and youth groups, and it also provides support for seniors.

Importantly, Blakehurst Baptist Church supports Christian mission work all around the world. In recent years the church has supported the work of mission partners in Ecuador, Lebanon and Burkina Faso. The church community also takes a special interest in humanitarian issues in Cambodia. Through its ChiredziKids program, the church has been supporting vulnerable children in a remote part of Zimbabwe since 2001. The program currently supports 17 kids.

Thank you to Minister McWhirter and to everyone involved in Blakehurst Baptist Church for your contribution to our community.