Christ Church, Constantia on the corner of Parish Road marked its 160th anniversary last year. DAVID HILL writes that celebrations were muted because of the coronavirus and will take place this year.
Archdeacon of Constantia, the Venerable Terry Lester, says they are having a delayed celebration over the next months.
Meanwhile a video of Christ Church has been made and posted on the church YouTube channel, and a link has been posted on the church Facebook page. The six-minute video was filmed and produced by Tim Lester, Reverend Lester’s son and, besides showing off the beauty of the church, has interviews with people who have long associations with it.
“A series of podcasts with interviews with past rectors and other parishioners is also being planned,” said Reverend Lester.
A clipping from the Constantiaberg Bulletin, dated March 11, 2011 and marking the 150th anniversary of Christ Church, said that “a cross made of vine cuttings had been affixed to the west wall of the church”. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba read the inscription dedicating it to the families of the labourers on the farms of the Constantia Valley for whom the original chapel had been consecrated in 1895.
“The cross is a reminder of the changing nature of the valley and of the pain of the many families who were moved out of the area by the then government’s policy of racial segregation and, as the farms were broken up, the land was used for suburban homes….”
To quote from the 50-page magazine, entitled “Anglican Worship in the Constantia Valley”, and produced to celebrate the church’s 150th anniversary: “Entering Christ Church one is made aware that this is God’s house, a place of beauty and peace, sanctified by prayer and the experience of God’s presence.
“It not only serves the Anglican community in the Diocese of Cape Town but has stood for over 150 years as a symbol of faith for the Constantia community; of community and constancy; and of eternal values in a rapidly changing world – one which has survived political upheavals.
“As a place of reconciliation and compassion, it has transcended the distinctions which divide people, and points to a greater unity.”
The video can also be accessed via the church website at https://christchurchconstantia.weebly.com/worship.html
