Pilgrim Uniting Church


is a church in the heart of the City on Flinders Street, Adelaide, South Australia. It is a church of the Uniting Church in Australia.
It has a rich history reflected in its traditions and in the building. Pilgrim is a community of people who have centred their Christian involvement in the city. It offers patterns of worship that are not identical to one another so as to cater for its varied congregation that come from far and wide. It is a vibrant, proactive gathering place that does a great deal of volunteer work for the disadvantaged and is a strong advocate of social justice. Pilgrim offers many music programs to the public, has an art exhibition space and turns out one of Adelaide's finest choirs. The church attracts musicians from all over the world to play its organ and to sing, because of its outstanding acoustic quality. The church is also an active supporter of local and young and upcoming artists.
Its mission is:
"We are called by God to be a Prophetic Witness in the city of Adelaide so that New Life and Vitality will be generated in our city and in its people.
We are blessed to be a blessing".
Pilgrim's mission activities seek to grow our commitment to being a place of welcome and hospitality in the City of Adelaide. Our overriding purpose is to bear witness to the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. Social Justice is at the heart of all that we do as articulated by the Uniting Church in Australia in the inaugural Statement to the Nation, and the Statement to the Nation for Australia’s Bicentennial celebrations.

History

Pirie Street Wesleyan Church
The congregation was originally at the Gawler Place Wesleyan Chapel. The first minister at the Pirie Street site was Daniel Draper. The first service was held on 19 October 1852.
William Bowen Chinner was organist and choirmaster at Pirie Street from 1869 to around 1899. His nephew Norman Chinner filled the same positions from 1939.
Stow Memorial Church
The first Congregational chapel in South Australia was a temporary structure on North Terrace. George Strickland Kingston was the architect for a building in Freeman Street, with the congregation then moving to the Flinders Street site.
Stow Memorial Church, designed by Robert G. Thomas, was named in memory of the Reverend Thomas Stow, who had officiated at the first service in a tent on Adelaide's Park Lands in October 1837. The foundation stone was laid on 7 February 1865 and the inaugural worship service was held on 12 April 1867. The first minister was Cadwallader William Evan. The organist, who served for 45 years, was James Shakespeare.
Union Church in the City
Pirie Street Methodist and Stow Memorial congregations united on 1 June 1969 to form the Union Church in the City. In November 1975 the church changed its name to become Pilgrim Church. The congregation joined the Uniting Church at its inauguration in 1977.

Buildings

Pirie Street
The foundation stone for the Pirie Street Wesleyan Chapel was laid on 15 July 1850. The church was designed by Henry Stuckey. Completion of the building, after Henry Stuckey's death in 1851, was under the supervision of Edmund Wright,
After the merger of the two congregations the building was bought by the Adelaide City Council and demolished in 1976. Wright was also the architect of the Methodist Meeting Hall, located between the Pirie Street and Flinders Street churches. The hall was built in 1862 and is the only remaining part of the Pirie Street property and is now part of the Adelaide Town Hall complex.
Flinders Street
The building had it foundation stone laid on 7 February 1865. It is designed in the Revival Gothic style.
The architect for the building was Robert George Thomas who was among the first colonists, arriving in South Australia in 1836 aged 16 years.

Gallery

Organs

The organ in the Flinders Street building was initially installed in 1855 in the Pirie Street building with that from Flinders Street being sold to St John's Lutheran Church in Malvern. Improvements over the years have made it the largest organ in the state of South Australia.

Notable people

Stow Memorial Church
Pirie Street Methodist Church
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Pilgrim Uniting Church