A significant anniversary for St George Peace Memorial Church, and hopefully for your school, falls on Monday 31 August 2020.

The 31st August 2020 marks the 90th anniversary of the first church service in Ivanhoe East State School.

‘When the Rev. Geoffrey Smith, as Vicar of St. James’ Church, Ivanhoe, and Church of England authorities made their decision in 1929 to buy land in East Ivanhoe for the future establishment of a church in the district, the area was semi-rural.

What is now East Ivanhoe, consisted of an area of green paddocks and unmade roads, and Warncliffe Road probably seemed a most unlikely site for the building of a new church. The area bounded by Lower Heidelberg Road, Macarthur Road, the Yarra Boulevard and what is now Keam Street, was then known as Scotchman’s Links, and was often used by local people for a free game of golf.

But Church planners of the day took the lead from the Education Department, which had decided to build a new State School in Warncliffe Road, and it was clearly recognised that this would become the very heart of the future development of the East Ivanhoe district. Thus it was that St. George’s Church in Warncliffe Road, had its origins in the Parish of St James’ Ivanhoe.’ (my emphasis)...

East Ivanhoe Anglicans convened a meeting on 12 December 1929…to form a Committee to arrange for Church Services and Sunday school classes to be held in the new area...

On the completion of the building of the East Ivanhoe State School, St. George’s Committee decided to hold Church services on the school premises once a month (later fortnightly) and Sunday school classes were also to be held there. The first Church Service was held at the School on 31 August 1930 at 11 a.m.'

Skeggs, Bruce. (1979). St Georges Anglican Church East Ivanhoe: A Golden Jubilee History 1929-1979. The Vestry of St. George’s Anglican Church, East Ivanhoe. pp.6-7.

As this anniversary draws narthex unmade roads and semi-rural fields have been replaced by a garden suburb, where the State School and St George’s Anglican Church remain firmly and steadfastly anchored at the heart of East Ivanhoe. In these challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, which creates uncertainty for so many it would be my hope and prayer that we could celebrate this anniversary of this first church service by reminding our community that the School and Church at the heart of our communal life remain committed to nurturing, nourishing and sustaining children, young people and adults, whatever our background, beliefs or orientations may be so that we may live as a healthy and harmonious community in relationship with one another and committed to serve the common good, which is at the heart at this Commonwealth of Australia.

The Rev'd John Sanderson
Priest-in-Charge
St. George’s East Ivanhoe