Carngham Uniting Church says pipe organ is the last of its kind left

Carngham Uniting Church - which is actually in Snake Valley - says the community and the musical world have too much to lose and they've launched a petition to help express community support.

It comes after the recent closure of a church in Neill Street Soldiers Hill that sent shock-waves through rural Uniting churches across Western Victoria.

Snake Valley's stunning 'cathedral in the bush' has a rare Fincham and Hobday organ - purpose-built for the 1892-93 building - and it is the last of its kind in Australia that still works.

"We believe it's the last organ that company made under that name, " church committee chair Kaylene Baird said.

"There are other organs around but they just haven't been maintained. They are just left there.

"We're aware of what is happening to some of our rural churches and the recent closure of Neill Street Uniting Church was a real eye opener.

"Churches have also been sold in recent years in Rokewood, Wickliffe and Dunkeld."

Elders said the organ - if moved elsewhere - might not work and would definitely not sound the same.

At almost 4 metres high, the instrument is an integral part of the Organs of Ballarat Goldfields Festival - which allows it to get serviced once a year.

Festival director Judy Houston said that due to demand, the festival had two annual performances at the Linton-Carngham Road church, attracting a total of 500 people - including some forced to stand outside.

"We absolutely love this church - and our audience loves to come here too," she said.

"This place has been warm and welcoming for people at the festival.

"We keep coming back."

Ms Baird said the petition was handed out during the festival - and signatures were still being collected at the local general store as well as an op shop/produce store operated by the church.

"This petition is about being pro-active," she said.

"We're saying that we all love our church and we are the current custodians of this gift from (early farmer) Philip Russell to the community."

The congregation - which runs its own services - is also involved in the Kids Hope mentoring program at the local primary school, as well as a farm project that teaches practical maths and science.

"We have sheep and goats that keep the grass down in a paddock near the church and we get the primary school kids to come and weigh the animals, see shearing in action and help keep them healthy," Ms Baird said.

"Just because you live in the country, it doesn't mean you're on a farm - and most of the kids at the local school are not from farms.

"We pride ourselves on outreach."

The Snake Valley church op shop also sells - and sometimes gives away - produce.

For families struggling to get to Ballarat, it saves time, petrol money and promotes a culture of recycling.

Ms Baird said Snake Valley was "blessed" to have a church where the congregation led their own worship.

"It provides a more meaningful way to bring the community into the service," she said.

"We're an active church - and we have so much history here as well."

A striking stained glass window and honour board dedicated to locals who served in World War 1 also means the church has become part of a Pyrenees Council memorial heritage precinct.

It includes the nearby Avenue of Honour nearby and a roadside memorial.

The cost of building the 1892 church building was donated by the Russell family - and while the neighbouring manse has been sold, the elders said they were keen for the church to stay in community hands for its intended purpose.

But with big structures come big costs.

"They've valued the building at $11 million and we don't have an option at the moment for the sort of policy we want," Ms Baird said.

"Eventually we'd like to have a more sustainable insurance premium and explore different options.

"It's a social justice issue.

"The cost is taking away from other projects."

The congregation has launched a Facebook page to help build solidarity and inform the community about threats to Snake Valley's biggest landmark.

"Recent external church conversations have become more difficult for us as individuals and as a congregation we are feeling immense vulnerability," she said.

"Are we simply another church they have intended to close - and will pursue its closure?"

Ms Baird said the congregation made an application to request heritage status in 2008 - and was still waiting.

"We followed up with Heritage Victoria in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and they haven't progressed the application," she said.

"If they can respond to the heritage status of Wendouree Lake (In May 2022), why couldn't they have responded to our submission of 2008?

"The delay has been an immense source of frustration for us."

The elders all agreed Snake Valley and Carngham would not be the same without their spiritual refuge.

"One of the reasons that we all choose to live where we do is because being here is calming to our soul - and we know we are loved and embraced as part of the Snake Valley community," Ms Baird said.

"We nurture them and they nurture us."