Places to worship
Our churches are all worth a visit, in particular for their stained glass and historical significance, not to mention for a quiet moment with the Lord.
Jesus said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?”
Mark 11:17
St Mary’s Church
77 Talbot Street, Geraldine
HOW TO GET THERE
The first Anglican church was established in Geraldine in 1864. St Mary’s Church, as it stands today, was built in 1899 (the original building was moved to Ōrari but burned down in 1925. It served a small congregation there until 2011). Regarded as the mother church of the parish, St Mary’s stands proudly in the heart of Geraldine township.
SERVICES:
10.30am Holy Communion – every Sunday
St Thomas’ Church
6 Church Street, Woodbury
HOW TO GET THERE
St Thomas’ Church is a memorial church in memory of Mr and Mrs Charles George Tripp, pioneer settlers. Established in 1879, the river stone building was completed in 1938 and is home to several spectacular stained glass windows.
SERVICES:
9am Holy Communion – every first Sunday of the month
*May vary in December/January – email admin@anglicansingeraldine.co.nz for details
St Anne’s Church
Pleasant Valley Road, Geraldine Downs
HOW TO GET THERE
Built in 1863, St Anne’s Church is the oldest church still in use in South Canterbury. The timber used in the building, being matai, kahikatea and totora, was felled from the bush behind the church.
SERVICES:
9am Holy Communion – every third Sunday of the month
*May vary in December/January – email admin@anglicansingeraldine.co.nz for details
St Stephen’s Community Church
1200 Peel Forest Road, Peel Forest
HOW TO GET THERE
The first church on this site was erected in 1868 and was ecumenical in its purpose. A powerful whirlwind swept through in May, 1884, demolishing the building completely. The community banded together and St Stephen’s was rebuilt just one year later, consecrated in 1887.
The church was sold to a private trust in 2023 in order that the building could be fully restored and maintained by the community. Anglican services still take place there twice a month.
SERVICES:
9am Holy Communion – every second Sunday of the month*
9am Service of the Word – every fourth Sunday of the month*
*May vary in December/January – email admin@anglicansingeraldine.co.nz for details
Church of the Holy Innocents
Mount Peel Station, Mount Peel
HOW TO GET THERE
The Church of the Holy Innocents at Mount Peel Station was a gift to the community by John Barton Arundel Acland and consecrated by his father-in-law, Bishop Henry John Chitty Harper, 30 May 1869. The church is named in remembrance of three infant children who died between 1864 and 1869 and are buried in the churchyard cemetery. Badly damaged in the September 2010 earthquake, the church has been painstakingly restored and strengthened, and now stands as pristine as it was when first consecrated in the 1860s.
Anglican Parish of Geraldine 