On Sunday 11 February 1917, a young music teacher by the name of Mildred Grigg gathered four children together in the home where she lived with her parents for the first meeting of what was called the Pioneer Sunday School.
The house was in Pangbourne Street, Churchlands, in the western suburbs of Perth. In 1924 it became known as Wembley Park after the suburb of London which hosted the British Empire Exhibition in that year. By the end of 1917 there were 26 names on the Sunday School roll, regular worship services were being held in the Grigg home, and the Methodist Church had purchased land a few doors down at 35 Pangbourne Street, where the first church building was erected a few years later.
To mark the centenary of their congregation, Wembley Uniting Church will be holding a Thanksgiving Service on Sunday 12 February at 10.00am. It will incorporate a traditional harvest thanksgiving and will be followed by a shared lunch. Rev David de Kock, general secretary of the Uniting Church WA, who is also a member of the congregation, will be guest preaching.
Anybody who has been associated with the Wembley Sunday School, whether as a scholar, teacher or parent, is especially welcome to attend this service.
There will also be a major Centenary Celebration on Sunday 4 June at 3.00pm, with the moderator, Rev Steve Francis, preaching.
For further information contact John Meyer on 9381 6874 or jameyer@iinet.net.au.
John Mayer