After countless hours of work by the The Family History Group of the Kurrajong – Comleroy Historical Society, this Sunday we celebrate the launch of St Stephens Church Kurrajong- Parish Registers (1861 – 1902) during our 10am church service. We’ll celebrate that Christ has been building his church here for 144 years, and that he is continuing to build his church.
Is J K Rowling feeling threatened? Probably not! But many the collected records of those who were baptised, married and died will be enough reason to buy this book. For others the history, biographies and photos will add to the enticement. At $27 it will be a wonderful Christmas present for many people.
Here’s my foreword to the book:
Here is life recorded – the lives of those now long gone. Their hopes and hard work, successes and failures, shaped our community into what it is today. Sadly the passage of time has meant that most have left little tangible record of their lives. But many of them were baptised, and many of them were married, so here they are recorded. And of course, all of them died. Here is life recorded; here is death recorded. In our busy modern world we push the past and we push death out of our sights. May the reading of these records ‘teach us to number our days’ (Psalm 90:12).
Here too is testimony to the faith of our early settlers, and the importance of the church in the life of the community. For parents brought their children for baptism in the faith of Christ, men and women came to be married in the sight of God, and the dead were buried in the confidence that those who die in Christ share eternal life with him.
My great thanks to the members of the Hawkesbury Family History Society for their tireless work in this monumental task. They have spent countless hours deciphering the handwriting of past ministers, on whose behalf I apologise. In so doing they have provided an invaluable resource to all those who would find details of their own family history and of our community’s history. May the fruits of their work bring insight and understanding to all those who read it.
Rev. Shaun McGregor
Senior minister, Parish of Kurrajong
4th April 2013 A.D.
