"Should we stay or should we go?' It's a question that has confronted Sydney's Moore Theological College for several years and now looks set to be resolved in 2005.
The College has made its home in Newtown for the past 114 years. But steadily increasing student numbers have stretched current facilities to breaking point.
The College Council is now hoping to make major decisions about the future location and property needs of the College by the end of the year.
Members of the public are being invited to take part in this process by making suggestions and comments to the College.
The planning process will include considering alternative sites for the College, either in part or as a whole.
Director of Property Planning, Doug Marr, says many of the current facilities are inadequate and will soon be in serious crisis.
"The library is already a shambles," Mr Marr said. "There is no room for books and no room for users.
"The current fourth year and other years are all too big to fit into lecture rooms. We're also unable to do the appropriate teaching in smaller rooms " it's usually just one person standing up front and teaching."
Mr Marr said that around 10 submissions have been received so far, offering a range of views and ideas.
"Some are ordinary people with good local knowledge. Others are from people with a particular expertise. Some suggestions are out of left field and initially seem unrealistic, but it's worth pursuing them all."
Mr Marr said he was surprised that few submissions have expressed strong views on whether to stay in Newtown or relocate.
"We really do want to hear from people about what they think. If people have strong views and valid arguments, we want to get them all together so we can report to the College Council."
Moore College has long been the training ground for most Sydney Anglican ministers, while also training Christians for a range of other ministries in Australia and overseas.
It owns around 20,000 square metres of land in Newtown, including teaching facilities and student and faculty housing.
But with hopes that student numbers will reach 1,000 within ten years, a drastic overhaul of current facilities is needed.
Despite the physical limitations, Moore has resolved to place no limit on the number of students accepted for ministry training.
Mr Marr says this decision is having major consequences for the College.
"That was a definite decision the Council made a couple of years ago. It considered whether it was best to literally turn away competent and capable people, and decided not to. We believe the Lord of the Harvest is answering our prayers so we won't turn people away. But the result is we're now facing all these issues."
The College's new academic year starts this week with another record enrolment of around 305 full-time undergraduate students.
The figure surpasses last year's total of 287 and includes over 100 Sydney Anglican ordination candidates.
Members of the public are invited to send comments in writing to Doug Marr by March 7th. For more information visit the Moore College website
