OPENING DOORS
Doors Open program lets public see inside local churches
Program lets public see inside local churches.
A former church in Baddeck features stained glass windows that Mabel Bell brought to Baddeck when the church was consecrated in 1883. And let’s not forget the United Church in Inverness with three stained glass windows dedicated to the memory of local Jewish men who fought in the Second World War.
“You hear some interesting stories,” says Margaret Herdman, chair of the Places of Worship committee for the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia. “I had one where a priest I had never known and I’ve heard his name lot of times but the person who was giving the tour, said he had died when she was nine or 10. And she can tell me where she was at the moment he died and everyone else she knows in her community that knew him can do the exact same thing. That tells you how much he was loved.”
Thirty-four churches around Cape Breton opened their doors to everyone this week, as part of the Heritage Trust’s Doors Open program held during the Celtic Colours International Festival.
It was the second year for the program which began last year in Inverness and Richmond counties. This year, 13 churches in Inverness and Richmond counties took part while 21 churches also opened their doors in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Victoria County. Sometimes, few people come through the doors but that’s not the point of the program, says Herdman.
“It doesn’t always matter — it’s just to have people out and learning about it,” she said. “The focus of Heritage Trust is conservation and preservation and information about buildings and sites of historical significance. But we also recognize the cultural aspect of any community of building, church, cemetery — our focus has been not just on the building but also the community
and how the people in the congregation or the church community have interacted with the community and so on.”
Herdman says the goal is to eventually extend the program around the province. For now, it’s important to keep interest in these building alive, especially since many churches in rural communities may be close to closing, if they’re not already.
“They’re not always active but the people still value them.”
Churches open between noon and 4 p.m. in the CBRM and Victoria on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week included:
St Patrick’s Church Museum, 87 Esplanade, Sydney; Knox Presbyterian Church, 39 Grant Street, Baddeck; Ephraim Scott Presbyterian Church, 8 South Haven Loop, South Haven; St Columba Presbyterian Church, 4005 Gabarus Hwy, Marion Bridge; Union Presbyterian Church, 4220 Louisbourg Hwy, Albert Bridge; St Mary’s Polish Catholic Church, 21 Wesley Street, Sydney (Wednesday only); Holy Ghost Ukrainian
Catholic Church, 49 West Street, Sydney; United Heritage Church, 500 Charlotte Street, Sydney; St. George’s Anglican Church, 119 Charlotte Street, Sydney; Bethel Presbyterian Church, 9 Brookland Street, Sydney; St Alphonsus Stone Church
39 Arthur Street, Victoria Mines; St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church, 643 Main Street, Sydney Mines; St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 48462 Cabot Trail, North River Bridge; St Philip’s Orthodox African Church, 30 Hankard Street, Sydney; and Knox Presbyterian Church, 10109 Kempt Head Road, Ross Ferry.