Barns are structures used for the storage of agricultural products, such as hay, grain, and fruits, and the sheltering of livestock, such as cattle, horses, and sheep.
But that doesn’t apply to all barns. One barn, the one at the Pegarah Homestead, is now called the Barn Church. Every Sunday a small group of islanders get together at 10.30 am.
Some may ask, why another church on King Island? “My understanding of our New Testament churches is that they were small and they met in inner circles,” said barn owner Peter Gillett.
“ I don’t really appreciate or like looking at the back of someone’s head when I’m in church. I like to look at faces and say that small circles are much more friendly … that’s the way that it happened in the New Testament.
“I think that one of the ways we can learn from each other is by looking in each other’s eyes,” adds Ian Felsinger, who helps Peter with the weekly service.
“We just wanted to have something different for the local King Island community other than mainstream churches.
“There are a lot of people that feel uncomfortable with going to a mainstream church.
“We just wanted to create an atmosphere where people feel relaxed, loved, and taught the word of God through the Bible.
“It’s not like an inner circle of the elite. We are all equal in Christ. And so there’s no one up the front elevated higher than anyone else.
“Yes, me and Pete and Jacqueline, my wife , feel that we are called to lead a church like this and to teach,” he said.
Recently, one of the Barn Church members suggested a baptising ceremony at Little Beach in Currie.
Roger Frerk said he went to the boat house in April.
“They had an Easter service and that just got me thinking. People were leading me more into Jesus Christ.
“They mentioned the Barn Church and I turned up, and from then on I’ve been hooked. I just sort of said I couldn’t wait to serve the Lord and get baptised.”
Last Sunday, three people were baptised on a sunny and calm morning by Ian.
The King Island waters are still cold.
“Luckily, I had a few wetsuits on hand,” says Ian. “I felt a bit soft because the girls were all just in normal clothes.”
Narelle Blackie was very clear about her reason for getting baptised.
“I just want to serve my Lord and Saviour and share the good word and the good news with people and to publicly acknowledge my faith through full immersion in the water was just a wonderful way to set apart and draw that line in the sand and say ‘Yep, I’m in Lord, use me’.”
Newly baptised Tereza Hollander agrees.
“I guess it’s just a public declaration, not only to my church family but also to God”.