NH Kerk - Parys

-

Aka: Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa)

Built: 1927

Architect: Unidentified

Status: Extant

View from east. Unidentified photographer.

During the establishment of the current Parys congregation, times were not only financially difficult, but transport was limited to horse-drawn carts and ox wagons. For large portions of the farming community along the Vaal River, the distances to the nearest church buildings in Potchefstroom and Heilbron were very great. Under such circumstances, members could only rarely attend Communion services and worship.

Following a joint discussion by the church councils of Potchefstroom, Heilbron, and Vereeniging, it was decided to petition the Eastern Presbytery (Oostelike Ring) to found a Reformed (Hervormde) congregation in Parys. The founding took place in Parys at a congregational meeting on 13 June 1925. The Reformed (Gereformeerde) congregation of Parys granted the use of their church hall for Communion services, and the Hervormde church council decided to install a church bell there and donate it to the Gereformeerde congregation.

On 12 September 1925, a building commission was elected. On 17 October, it was announced that the Town Council had donated Erf No. 1008 - measuring 1 morgen, 204 square roods, and 99 square feet - to the congregation. On 7 May 1927, the building commission announced that tenders for a church had been requested, ranging from £1,700 to £4,000, excluding the pulpit and pews. Construction began immediately. At a church council meeting, it was decided to lay the cornerstone on 11 June 1927. Preparations were made for the inauguration of the church building, initially set for October 1927. This could not take place, and the date was rescheduled for 25 December 1927, conducted under the leadership of Rev. Van Belkum.

View from south-east. Google Street View (2015).

Locality map

Sources

  1. Parys se Half-eeufees. Die Hervormer, June 1975.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John O'Reilly

-
Image
Full name: John Robert "Diamond Jack" O'Reilly Lifespan: 1831 Grahamstown - 1904  Taung Occupation: Travelling peddler, hunter, diamond prospector, farmer John O'Reilly Timeline Personal details John Robert O'Reilly was the eldest son of James O’Neill O'Reilly (or James O'Neil O'Reilly) and Ida Hendriks (Yda Wilhelmina Hendrikz). His father left the family poorly provided for, prompting O'Reilly and his brothers to become traders and hunters. He first married Maria Greaves (1845 - 1884, British Bechuanaland) in 1868, in Colesberg. They had six children. After Maria's death, he married Henrietta Sarah Renou (1867 Port Elizabeth - 1947, Taung) in 1886. The ceremony was officiated by Rector William Thomas Gaul (1850–1927). They had seven children (totaling 13 for O'Reilly). The territory known as British Bechuanaland (annexed 1885, later incorporated into the Cape Colony and Union of South Africa) encompassed areas including Vryburg, Maf...
Read more

Rhenish Mission Church (Sarepta) - Kuils River

-
Image
Aka: Uniting Reform Church, Sarepta Built: 1843 Architect: Unidentified Status: Extant (Source: URC on Facebook) Timeline Location Notes The Rhenish Missionary Society (named after the Rhine River region in Germany) was one of the largest German missionary organizations, formed by amalgamating smaller missions dating back to 1799 and officially established on 23 September 1828. Its first ordained missionaries were dispatched to South Africa by year's end, where they began work in various towns, focusing on conversion to Christianity and community support. In 1829, the Society founded its first congregation in Stellenbosch, with Reverend Paul Daniel Lückhoff as the initial minister. Jana (Johanna) van den Berg (c.1800 - 1860), also known as Moeder Jana , was a formerly enslaved woman who, like many others emancipated in 1838, settled in the sandy dunes surrounding Kuils River - an informal community with little access to formal institutions. She became one of the earliest memb...
Read more

Coert Steynberg

-
Image
Full name:  Coert Lourens Steynberg Lifespan:  1905 Hennopsrivier - 1982 Pretoria Occupation:  Sculptor, medallist. Coert Steynberg. Unidentified photographer. Timeline Biography Coert Steynberg was a prominent South African sculptor and medallist. He worked in a variety of materials, including granite, marble, sandstone, glass, bronze, copper, and wood, and created both large-scale public monuments and smaller, more intimate private works. Early Life and Education Steynberg in Venice, third from left. Unidentified photographer. Born in Hennops River (near Pretoria) in the Transvaal Colony. At the age of four, his family moved to Bethal (Mpumalanga) where he matriculated. Steynberg studied art at Rhodes University in South Africa before advancing to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied sculpture under Gilbert Ledward . Here he received the August Spencer trophy for best sculpture student. Steynberg spent six years abroad, during which time he toured Europe...
Read more