For centuries the parsonage has been an integral part of the church complex, normally located next to, or at least close to the church building, serving as the pastor’s residence and in addition, as administrative office of the local parish, often including additional buildings to accommodate schooling and care for children and other congregants. In Cape town, in use as a parsonage until 1891, the Martin Melck House, designed as an architectural entity to meet the needs of the Lutheran Church, has survived and is of historic interest symbolising the long drawn-out struggle of the Lutherans for the right to practise their religion. A parsonage is typically owned and maintained by the church, as a benefitto its pastor. Cape Church policy stipulates that each congregation provides accommodation to its pastor, preferably in close vicinity of the church.
As we uphold the practice to transfer clergy from one congregation to an-other at relatively frequent intervals, it implies that the parsonage must have flexible infrastructure to meet the needs of different individuals and their families. As for any other building, maintenance also requires constant attention and can from time to time be very costly.
Our parsonage history displays a diverse scenario, since the 1960’s, at different stages, Kreuzkirche owned three different parsonage properties. The first one was in Middel Street, Bellville opposite the church, at the timewhen our current church complex was established. For about 30 years it provided residence to various pastors, many from Germany doing duty in South Africa. This house was eventually sold in the 1990s to make place for a more modern house, which was located 2 km away in Boston, (corner Bloem and Boston Streets, Bellville).
In the 2000’s the situation arose where a pastor required a larger house. To meet the changing needs and avoid great maintenance expenditures, the house in Boston Street was sold. The money was invested to earn interest and a property in 6 Van Nierop Street, Panorama, 7 km away from the church, was rented by the church to serve as parsonage. A subsequent Kreuzkirche pastor stayed at Devonvale (18 km away) and the church paid a subsidy to cover his rental expenditure. Since Kreuzkirche had now been without a parsonage property for several years, the congregation then decided to again acquire a parsonage. In 2018 a house was bought at 12 Angelier Street, Brackenfell (7.4 km away from Kreuzkirche). Also, to complement the Kindergarten (KiGa) on the church premises, the adjacent property (27 Middel Street, Bellville) was initially acquired expand the premises of the KiGa, but later rented out. When the pastor occupying 12 Angelier Street, Brackenfell left prematurely, the parsonage was rented out during the vacancy period, so as not to lose any income. Unfortunately, the tenants stopped paying their rent and greatly neglected the property. It took more than a year and legal assistance to finally evict them from the property. The financial loss incurred to the church (rental loss and renovating the property) came to about R300 000.
Our current pastor is renting a suitable property about 5 km away from the church. The rental income from both 12 Angelier Street, Brackenfell and 27 Middel Street, Bellville provides a sufficient income from which the church can subsidise the rental expenditure. The current 12 Angelier Street, Brackenfell, tenants are reliable and complying with their rental payments and other obligations. The families occupying 27 Middel Street pay regularly, but the property urgently needs maintenance and renovation. To properly manage and fulfil our parsonage obligations, Kreuzkirche Church Committee has recently created a Parsonage Fund and kindly appeals to. congregants to support this project (Bellville Church of the Cross FNB Account 6276 8932 644; Willow bridge branch; Code 210655).
With the DSK Kindergarten having vacated our premises (they relocated to their Parow premises), we now have many challenging options pertaining to our property portfolio. We need to consider diverse investments, renting and even selling some of our properties and facilities to ensure that we can continue optimal fulfilment of our parsonage obligations.
The congregation is encouraged to give this topic some thought and come forward with proposals in this regard.
Your Church Committee.
12 Angelier Street, Brackenfell
