A Bay of Plenty man who has bought a picturesque local church is considering using it as a venue for same-sex couples who want to tie the knot in a chapel. Dave is looking for a business partner with the nous and community connections to make it happen – plus some cash to throw into the project. More than 100 years old, the Anglican church St Peters on the Rock in Mamaku has been deconsecrated due to dwindling parishioner numbers. It adjoins Dave’s property, and was in fact donated by the original owner of his land. When the church offered to sell it to him he accepted and it’s bought and paid for. It still has all its original rimu, but Dave says it needs a bit of a tidy up. “The bell’s been taken, which brassed me off, and the pews have been taken too so I need to get new ones made up – that’s one of the reasons I need a financial backer.” It was his Australia-based 71-year-old mum who suggested the church could be great for gay couples who want to get married in a church, but are finding it tough to find one which will allow them to do so. She said it would likely be a great idea, “with the amount of people that go to New Zealand to get married, especially from over here.” Some churches in New Zealand do allow full weddings, others offer blessings only, and some won’t allow gay couples to wed at all. Dave has already spent a fair bit on the project so is looking for a 50/50 business partner, and also wants to gauge interest in the project to see whether people like the idea and there would be demand for such a venue. He is thinking about renaming it "Chapel on the Rock". Obviously it could be used for straight weddings too. Dave's planning to build a big deck, put some nice gardens in and maybe open up some of the bush on his land for the project. Anyone interested in becoming Dave's business partner who'd like to be put in touch can email news@gaynz.com
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 25th August 2015 - 10:20am