The two Anglican churches in the Parish of Wauchope have been listed for $220,000 and $130,000 respectively.

The decision was made as part of a major restructuring of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton, which will redirect worship and ministry to St Matthew's in Wauchope.

All Saints Pappinbara Community Church was also in the running to be sold, but was purchased for a minimal amount and returned to community ownership in May 2021 after 12 months of negotiations with the Diocese.

Jeannette Rainbow OAM, a former warden at All Saints Anglican Church, said it was very sad to see the buildings being sold after having land donated and churches built by the community during the Depression.

"Our church will be 90 years old in December, we will celebrate that anniversary on December 5 if we're able because churches like this are part of the community," she said.

"The sale of those two churches is not going to be good I think. These buildings are part of the fabric of our traditional life and it's important that tradition is carried on to future generations because once you lose an asset like that, you can never get it back.

"It's just sad really."

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Byabarra church is 92 years old, while the Ellenborough church is more than 100 years old.

"The Parish will remain as a distinct Parish with its own Rector but the restructuring will encourage the working together of the Wauchope Parish with other parishes in the region including the parishes of Kempsey, Lower Macleay and Port Macquarie," a diocesan spokesperson said.

"While church closures are matters of concern for those who worship there, closure does not mean that ministry will cease. Instead of maintaining the existing buildings for small congregations, all parishes across the Diocese will be encouraged to rethink their ministry to current members and the greater community.

"Wauchope, in terms of regular congregations and finances is one of our smaller parishes. For these reasons the Synod has decided that the rural churches will close."

The restructuring was approved at an annual meeting in September 2020 attended by 130 representatives from parishes, schools and chaplaincies.

Ellenborough resident, Senior Citizen of the Year awardee and church warden Phyl Hollis, said parishioners maintained the church and its sale is heart-breaking for the community.

"We're heart broken about the sale of the church. We left it too late and now our hands are tied. There has been talk of this for 18 years, there was just no stopping it and it's terrible," Mrs Hollis said.

"We are disappointed. No matter who buys it, they will never be able to match the amount of work, heart and effort we have put into the church here in Ellenborough.

"It's heart-wrenching. We have a good little community here and unfortunately this is a no-win situation."

Parishioner and former Hindman's Creek resident Anne Waugh said it is sad the community is losing its outreach churches built by local residents.

"It's going to be a very sad day for the congregation when it does close. We have had no chance of buying and it will be sold to the highest bidder unfortunately," she said.

"The church is a meeting place for the community and Byabarra is a very loving community. It's very sad it's closing.

"With the growing population in the Mid North Coast area I feel this decision is rather short-sighted."

Mrs Waugh said she was still hopeful the church services could be moved to the community hall at Byabarra.

The spokesperson said the Diocese is at a crossroads as society moves away from church attendance and allegiance.

"The Diocese has been working on how to reshape its current ministry structures to best serve the society of the 21st century, recognising the population trends in the region.

"Restructuring for Mission and Ministry was endorsed after almost a year of consultation across the Diocese within communities, parishes and networks of parishes and is now in its implementation phase.

"During the restructure less vibrant parishes will be merged to suit adequate resources, cooperative groups of parishes will be created to generate collective initiatives, ministry centres will be consolidated to decrease management burden and new ministries will be encourage to take place away from church property."

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