Building Work is Underway!

After years of planning, fundraising and generous support from our parish and wider community, we’re delighted that earthquake strengthening work has begun on St. Alban’s Church and Hall.
For almost ten years, our buildings have stood empty. It’s exciting to have reached this important milestone as we begin the journey towards reopening our home for worship, community activities and future generations.
Construction is expected to take around six months, with completion anticipated in early 2027.

We’re very grateful to everyone from our parish and wider community who’s supported this project over the years.

What to expect during construction

While the work is underway:

  • The church, hall and most of the surrounding grounds will be closed to the public.
  • Our parish office will stay open as usual. Access is via the alleyway between Ngaio Street and Karamu Street.
  • The Memorial Wall will remain accessible throughout the project.

We know many people in our community have been following the project with great interest. We’re very grateful for the encouragement, donations, practical help and goodwill that have brought us to this point.

Follow our progress

We’ll share regular updates and photos as the work progresses, so please follow along on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StAlbansNZ

It’s wonderful to finally see work underway. We’re looking forward to opening the doors of St Alban’s again.

We’ll add photos to this page as the project progresses, so check back from time to time to see how things are going.

Support us!

If you’d like to support us, help is still very welcome. Every contribution will help with completing the strengthening and renewal work. It’ll also help us work towards our vision for a safe, welcoming and useful community space for the Eastern Bays.

Ways to Support Project Kuhu Mai

Online Banking
Account name: Parish of Eastbourne
Account number: 02-0500-0821577-01
Code: Earthquake Fund
Reference: Your name and initial

Tax benefits: St Alban’s can provide an income tax receipt for eligible onations, if you would like a receipt please complete the donation form below after making your donation. This will give us the details we need to issue your receipt.

[Donation form]

If you’d like to find out more about the project or discuss another way to support the work, please get in touch with us.

Your energy and enthusiasm are just as valuable as financial donations! There are many ways to contribute your time and skills – we’ll share more information about opportunities to get involved as they arise.

Since 2024, we’ve been living out radical manaakitanga through deliberate invitation and hospitality. Green shoots are appearing in Parish life and the church is growing – and we’d love your help nurturing this growth!

Please do take the time to walk past the Church from time to time if you can, and pause there to share a prayer for everyone involved in the mahi -those who’ve organised and prepared, those you’ve donated and supported, and those who’ll do the mahi of strengthening and restoring the buildings.
Reflect on the future, and seek God’s strength that we may build a Church where everyone is welcome; a Church that reflects God’s aroha, seeks God’s justice, offers generous welcome and hospitality, and proclaims God’s great good news!

Strengthening for the Next Century

To achieve our vision, our buildings need to be safe and fit for purpose. We’re strengthening both the church and the hall, as well as renewing important parts of the building.
This project will protect these much-loved buildings for a sustainable future, helping them to serve the community for many years to come while retaining the character and features that make St. Alban’s special.

This video was created during our fundraising. It tells the story of why this project is so important to our parish and wider community. Since it was filmed we’ve reached an exciting milestone with earthquake strengthening actually under way. We invite you to watch this video to learn more about the history of the project and the vision behind bringing St. Alban’s Church and Hall back into use.