Historic Knox United looks to future with renovations
Calgary’s iconic Knox United Church had reached across the pond for help in its “reimagining” of the historic downtown building.
But Father Andrew ForeshewCain, the founder of The Sanctuary Café at St. James Church in West Hampstead, London, considers himself more a cheerleader than consultant for the Calgary project.
Knox is undergoing a three-year makeover, which will see its location transformed to include a café in its sanctuary, a co-working space, and a community kitchen and bakery.
Minister Greg Glatz said Sunday the project will be similar to what Foreshew-Cain did in London.
“Father Andrew is really a person that takes it out of the hypothetical for us,” Glatz said.
“It’s really helpful to have someone who’s done it.”
Glatz said the renovations are an attempt to make the church more user-friendly with the diverse community of Calgarians who live in the core.
“I do think we’ll bring more people into the church community, but only because we’re caring about the people around us,” he said.
“If we make this church about the people around us, they’ll join us.”
Glatz said with the help of people who have run cafés themselves, he believes they can build something that will be financially sustainable.
“I’m a minister, what do I know about running a café?” he said about the strong assistance he’s received from others.
Foreshew-Cain said he’s impressed with what he’s seen so far, including how enthusiastically people have taken to such a drastic change.
“There’s a real pioneer spirit out here,” he said. “I’m enormously impressed with what they’ve got.”
Foreshew-Cain, who in 2014 became only the second gay priest in Britain to enter into a same-sex marriage, said Knox, like his own church, is developing a space that is inclusive and safe.
“This is how every church should be,” he said. “I’m sure ... that’s what people will be saying about this place.”
He said there seems a greater willingness among people in Calgary to see such a change as he experienced in London.
“There was a bit of incomprehension and caution,” he said. “People here really have that enthusiasm.”
Glatz said putting a café in the sanctuary of his church will make it more like the original places people gathered to worship, rather than the pew-lined ones that have evolved over centuries.
“In a sense, we’re really going back to where we were in the first place,” he said.