Presbyterian church re-established in Alice Springs

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
 
Sir – The Presbyterian Church has returned to Alice Springs after many years.
 
The formal association of the church with outback Australia dates back to 1912, when it asked Rev John Flynn to survey the Northern Territory, and later appointed him Superintendent of what was to become the Australian Inland Mission, from which the Presbyterian Inland Mission (PIM) was developed as one of the successors.
 
As far back as the 1920s, Flynn visited the Alice Springs area and was engaged on work to bring together wireless transmission and aviation, in what was to become the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
 
He planned and helped build Adelaide House, the first hospital in Central Australia.
 
The new Alice Springs Presbyterian Church, at 20 Parke Cres., will be officially opened on Sunday by the Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, Rt Rev David Jones. The church service will be attended by State Moderators and executives of the Presbyterian Inland Mission.
 
Rev. Keith Bell will conduct services each Sunday at 5pm. He and his wife Jenny have been appointed by the PIM to establish and develop the new congregation.
 
Rev. Bell has been the minister in three parishes in three different states and will  leave his current job as a hospital chaplain to establish this new work. Ms Bell is a project manager at the RMIT University Bundoora campus. They have five children and six grandchildren.
 
The new congregation will also support the Central Australian PIM Patrol, one of fourteen PIM Patrols across Australia.
 
Bill MacRae
Alice Springs