Celebrations will commence at 10.30am with a praise service which will be followed by a shared basket lunch at the local Soldiers Memorial Hall.

The service will be led by our current Yass Parish minister the Rev. David Stuart and the moderator of the Synod of NSW & ACT the Rev. Myung Hwa Park will be our guest speaker.

Alfred Bembrick who married Mary Ann Southwell in 1857 and William Southwell who married Caroline Brown were among the earliest settlers in the area.

They were brother-in-laws and Bembricks named their home ‘Rye Park’ after their ancestral home of ‘Rye’ on the Southern Coast of England.

‘Park’ was derived from ‘Parkwood’ the first Southwell home in Australia.

Alfred Bembrick gave an acre of land for the erection of the Methodist chapel and a burial ground.

There laid to rest are the remains of the pioneers - Protestant and Catholic, Aboriginal and White.

The earliest marked grave is that of Margaret Percival dated August 22, 1862.

The first Wesleyan service was held in the area in 1847 and the first slab church opened in November 1866.

In 1878 the first brick church was built.

The original slab church continued to be used as a Sunday School, until the building of the current church which opened in 1927 and stands on the original site.

This kitchen area is still used by the Church, while the larger area is now used as the Rye Park Community Post Office.

When the Uniting Church in Australia came into being in 1977, we became the Rye Park Uniting Church.

The congregations consists of various denominations who attend the weekly services.

While we celebrate the past, we look to a future which holds many challenges.

For further information, contact Lorraine Veness on (02) 6227 2239 or lorron@activ8.net.au