High repair costs made church sale necessary
The sale of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church is a result of high costs to maintain the nearly 160-year-old building.
The ongoing maintenance costs for the church are $100,000 a year, says Janet Halstead, clerk of session for the church. She notes that cost doesn’t include repairs needed to the buttresses and the sanctuary.
Church staff announced last week they are selling the church, built in 1859, to Clear Global Capital for $900,000.
Halstead says she doesn’t know what will happen to the Murray Street building, and calls placed to Clear Global Capital have not yet been returned.
While parts of the church are still in good condition, says Halstead, others are in need of repairs.
The sanctuary, the main area of the church, has been closed for the past three years due to 50-pound plaster chunks falling from the ceiling. Halstead says anyone who steps into the area must wear a hard hat.
Right now the congregation uses a back room, but it’s a snug fit.
“It can be tight,” says Halstead.
Other repair issue can be seen on the exterior, where the limestone around the buttresses is crumbling and wrapped in plastic.
Halstead says the repairs on that cost $22,000 and it would require double that to finish the job.
In total, ongoing maintenance costs the church $100,000 a year, funds she says could be put to other initiatives.
“That’s a lot of money we could be using for many, many other purposes,” she says.
She explains the church does mission work in both Haiti and Africa, runs a pantry for those in need which she says will quickly empty and has been providing space to the Brock Mission while its new building is being constructed.
Halstead says between her congregation, the Brock Mission and two other congregations using the church, it’s busy every day.
With the funds from the sale, she hopes to find a space in the
area for her congregation.
“We’re just looking for a home now,” she says.
That home requires a worship space, as well as a place to hold community events and ideally a kitchen too.
Halstead hopes it’s possible the
building could be renovated and part of it could be rented out back to the congregation while the rest of the building is given new life.
Churches in Peterborough have been facing declining enrolment for years, as seen by a study done by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto showing a 50 per cent drop in attendance from 2001 to 2014.
Congregations are opting to close and sell their buildings while amalgamating with others, such as when Saint Andrew’s and George Street United became Emmanuel United Church.
In 2015, Knox United Church was transformed into a 41-unitaffordable-housing apartment building.
Halstead says she’s upset people aren’t being involved in their churches anymore, especially when they play a critical role in so many people’s lives.
“I find it very sad people don’t have a place in their life for God,” she says.
She adds she hopes the “beautiful” sanctuary will be maintained as best as possible.
Meanwhile, though the congregation is moving, Halstead emphasizes it’s still staying together. “We’re only saying goodbye to the bricks and mortar, we’re not saying goodbye to each other.”