Over the generations, the Glenmark Church has been the cherished setting for countless weddings, funerals, services, and celebrations.
In a community that lost its Hotel to fire in 2014 and iconic rugby club rooms a year later, the Church is one of the last remaining historic buildings in Waipara.
So, when the Glenmark Church was severely damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010, and again in 2011 and 2016, the district rallied together to save the building.
Friends of Glenmark Church chairperson Andy Munro said the building would have been unsalvageable if it had not been strengthened in 2001.
"The 2016 quake finished off what the 2010 and 2011 ones started.
"If the strengthening hadn't been done, it wouldn't have survived.
"Damage was done, but it was repairable."
The Church is entwined in the farming history of the district.
Built in 1907, the Church, along with a 12-room vicarage and cemetery, was gifted to the community by Annie Townend, daughter of George Moore, the notorious owner of Glenmark Station.
The original station covered 60,750 hectares, and Moore was believed to be the wealthiest man in the country.
He built an extravagant mansion on the property, which burned down three years later.
Townend, who was forbidden to have any suitors because her father feared they would only be after her fortune, moved to Christchurch with her father.
Moore's health was failing at this point, and he began to funnel assets off to Townend to avoid death duties and gave her power of attorney.
With her father unable to keep her on such a tight rein, Townend began a relationship with Dr. Joseph Townend, who was possibly treating her father at the time.
The two married secretly in 1900, with her father going to his grave unaware of their relationship.
Dr Townend sadly died two years later.
Townend, who also went on to own the Christchurch landmark Mona Vale, commissioned the church building in memory of her father and late husband.
"There is a strong connection between all the landowners here whose farms were part of Glenmark Estate and the Church.
"When Annie donated the Church, one of the stained glass windows was donated by the residents of Omihi.
"My Great-grandparents, grandparents and parents all had their funerals here.
"My Dad was christened here; we were all christened here," Munro said.

The Church is in the early Gothic Revival style, constructed of brick with Oamaru stone dressings and kauri and rimu timber inside.
A bell tower contains a ring of eight tubular bells, which is believed to be the only set of that kind in New Zealand.

The Norman Beard Pipe organ, made in Britain in 1906, has been maintained by the South Island Organ Company since the 1980s.
Since the earthquakes, the Friends of Glenmark Church, of which Munro has been chairperson for 21 years, have raised nearly $500,000 for the restoration of the building.
A $250,000 repair and refurbishment of the organ, valued at $700,000, has just been completed.
"They are just wood and leather so that they can be brought back to brand new again," Munro said.
The main work has been strengthening the building to make it structurally sound and safe for public use while retaining its historic character.
"It took a long time with engineers coming in, and systems were changing as to how to repair it because the methodology on repairing brickwork was evolving as they repaired buildings in Christchurch."

"The walls have been re-barred and strengthened; the tower was out of line, that's been left where it is, but strengthened.
"The archways have been replaced, and the foundation was pulled out with a new foundation replicating the old.
"The gables weren't tied into the building but are now."
The stained glass windows are a feature of the Church and have been painstakingly restored, costing $100,000.
A donation from Glenmark estate's current owners, George and Suzie Gould, made this possible.
"We have been told the windows are of such outstanding workmanship they could be in a museum.
Most of the Church's restoration is completed, with around $50,000 required to finish the work, mainly interior plastering.
The grounds need tidying and replanting, and Munro is hoping for a donation of plants for upcoming landscaping working bees.
The building is already being used by the community again for Sunday services, and two weddings are booked for this spring.
"It's a place where people have memories, sad and happy memories, and they need preserving."
"It's nice to be involved in saving one of these old buildings; we lost a lot of our heritage buildings in Christchurch," Munro said.

By Claire Inkson