Uniting Church parishioners say they are deeply hurt by the sale of 56 Victorian properties as their leaders try to recoup a $56 million debt incurred by last year’s collapse of Acacia College at Mernda North.
Affected churches in north-western suburbs include Sydenham, Brunswick West, Glenroy, Strathmore, Williamstown North and Yarraville.
A kindergarten in Upland Road, Strathmore, will be sold, as will halls in Williamstown North and Brunswick West.
St David’s parishioner Graeme Wilde said his grandmother was at the meeting in 1908 that determined there should be a church in Brunswick West.
He said the “arbitrary, dispassionate” way the church selected which buildings to sell seemed like a “quick-fix” decision.
Synod general secretary Reverend Doctor Mark Lawrence said the church understood the sale would cause upheaval and upset but was essential for the church in the long term.
