Packed: Cooma Uniting Church was filled to capacity for the farewell service.
The pews of the Cooma Uniting Church have now fallen silent after 96 years of Christian worship.
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Church chairman Murray Marke closed the doors for the last time on Sunday at a thanksgiving service attended by about 200 people.
Visiting preacher Rev Stewart McDonald acknowledged the grief and sadness the local community would be feeling but urged them to look beyond the material world and to look to God.
Cooma has been the site of Christian worship for 50 years before the classic stone and brick church was built in 1926.
It has been the scene of weddings, baptisms and funerals, and was also the birth place of the Cooma male choir, which became so popular the ecumenical group was invited to sing in other churches across the region.
Enthusiastic: Choir conductor Peter Anderson encourages the congregation to join the choir in singing.
The congregation has always had an outgoing evangelical leaning and has inspired a number of overseas missionaries.
Russell and Diane Marke gave extensive service in Africa.
Drawcard: A marquee was needed to accommodate the worshippers attending the final service of the Cooma Uniting Church.
The closing ceremony was especially poignant as most of the remaining congregation had either contracted COVID-19 or were isolating and so couldn’t attend.
The announcement that church secretary, 92-year-old Linda Marke, could not be present was met with a collective sigh from the crowd.
The 22-member Cooma male choir was in full voice for the ceremony, leading the singing and presenting several hyms, including To God be the Glory, The Church’s one Foundation and the classics, When Peace like a river and Great is thy faithfulness.
Methodists began house meetings in Cooma in 1874 before a log and mud building was erected, followed by a bigger weatherboard church.
In 1926 a new building was opened, which included stained glass windows commemorating the sacrifice of soldiers who died in the Great War.
Just two years later the Cooma male choir was established.
Faithful: About 100 people filled the Cooma Uniting Church.
North East Victoria Presbytery chair Rev Geraldine Leonard uttered the final prayer of thanksgiving as the door was closed.
Rev Iain Nixon said the the remaining members of the congregation would be made welcome at the Kyabram parish churches.
The building is expected to be sold by the Uniting Church synod.
The plaques inside the church were likely to be found another home in the parish.
The Cooma choir, which has many members based in Kyabram, had been in recess for about four years and choir member Murray Marke fielded a number of calls after the service urging them to continue.
Sad day: Cooma Uniting Church chairman, Murray Marke, closes the doors for the final time.
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