A collaboration with a local men's shed has seen a chapel at a seniors' community re-open following a beautiful upgrade.
The revamped Carinity Wishart Gardens chapel will be used as a place of peace and reflection by residents of the aged care home and adjacent retirement village.
A new feature of the chapel is a cross made from reclaimed pine wood, constructed over the course of two months.
Most of the work for the project was completed by Ethan Sanders, the youngest member of Gateway Men's Shed, which is aligned with Gateway Baptist Church.
"Carinity reached out and said that the chapel was getting a bit of a facelift and opening up again. We were asked if we could design, manufacture and install a cross," Ethan said.
"We're always taking on new projects at the men's shed and I had a lot of input from the other guys there.
"We went back and forth with a couple of different design options and I'm really happy with where we landed with it. The charm of the piece is that we were able to repurpose old material."
Made from three pieces of pine wood, the cross can be illuminated with the subtle glow of 12 different colour tones, to create an ambience reflective of the event being hosted in chapel.
"I initially constructed the cross so that that it would sit flat across the wall, but then we thought the LED lights would be such a nice touch, especially to match the beautiful stained-glass windows and the lux and lighting in the room," Ethan said.
The revamped chapel also features stained-glass windows, scripture readings on the walls, and a television screen to display bible verses and calming imagery.
Carinity CEO, Kevin Griffiths, said the chapel is a place where residents and their families can sit, rest, pray and reflect.
"The heart of what we do is to demonstrate Christ's love to people who need it. The chapel is such an important reflection of this," Kevin said.
"It's not just for believers: having a quiet sacred space for people to journey in different stages of life, particularly when they've lost a loved one, is a precious gift."
Kevin said the collaboration between Wishart Gardens and Gateway Men's Shed had led to relationships being established between other Carinity aged care homes and local church-based men's sheds.
