By JESSE GRAHAM
WORSHIPPERS may be left searching for a new Sunday-morning venue in Healesville after the Healesville Salvation Army announced it would be shutting down its weekly services.
However, the Salvos said they have no plans to leave the town and is asking the public to come forward with ideas for its future programs.
Healesville Salvation Army Minister Sarah Eldridge announced on Sunday 23 February that the group would no longer be running its Sunday morning services at its hall on Maroondah Highway.
She said the decision, which will impact about 10 weekly visitors, wasn’t about a closure for the Salvation Army but rather a restructure of the organisation and its plans to service the town.
“We’ve undergone a viability study on everything we do in Healesville and beyond and it has come back that our Sunday morning congregation will be coming to an end,” she said.
“We’re not closing, is the big message – we’re restructuring and refocusing, for the long term involvement and investment in the community.”
The final service at the hall will be on Sunday 9 March, and Ms Eldridge said the Salvation Army would be happy to help point worshippers in the right direction to find a new church.
She indicated that more services for families and younger children could be a possibility, but that the future remained uncertain.
Ms Eldridge said she wanted the future of the Salvation Army to be “driven by community need” and that she would spend the next few months getting feedback from residents.
She said anyone with ideas for the Salvation Army’s future programs in Healesville should email Healesville@aus.salvationarmy.org or call 5962 4826.
How do you feel about the decision to finish Sunday services with the Salvation Army? Do you have any thoughts about the future of the group in the town? Send a letter to the editor to Level 1, 244 Maroondah Highway, Healesville, 3777, or email editor@yvnews.com.au.
