He and his wife had mixed emotions about leaving, as ''we've got a lot of good friends here and had a really great time. We've put a lot of energy into this place.''
One of his main tasks while he had been in the parish, other than serving the community, had been ''stocktaking'' and the ''rationalisation'' of the church's property.
''In an age of ageing and declining congregations in the mainline churches, the remaining congregations are left with large, extremely cold, impractical buildings that may be beautiful ... but they're simply unsustainable in this part of the 21st century.''
The church was meeting the needs of the area's congregation well, but not reaching the wider community.
The end of his role in the area comes after the last church service at St Michael and All Angels in Clyde on Sunday.
The Clyde church was the earliest and oldest church in the area, Mr Falconer said.
More than 50 parishioners and residents attended the special ceremony at which the building's keys were handed over to representatives of a planned new trust.
Anglican Bishop of Dunedin the Rt Rev Dr Kelvin Wright said the trust would transform the Matau St church into a ''spiritual retreat''.
The church would be used for seminars and retreats, and the adjacent hall would be converted into retreat accommodation.
But the presence, feeling and ''sanctity'' would remain, and the church would not be deconsecrated.
There was no set date on when the church would reopen but it would be done ''as quickly as we can and beautifully as we can'', Dr Wright said.
The church was put on the market in March this year, but was taken off after the Otago and Southland diocese decided to retain ownership.
St Mary's Church in Omakau remains on the market.
Mr Falconer will leave at the end of this week and head to the Coromandel after a ceremony to welcome the Rev Penny Sinnamon as the new vicar at St Aidan's Anglican Church in Alexandra, on Sunday.
