By Bryan Eneas

Meath Park group attempts to save old church

Mar 20, 2018 | 4:52 PM

A resident in Meath Park took a stand for history and heritage by trying to stop the demolition of an old and unused church in her community.

Pauline Bear is part of the Country Gospel Fellowship, an organization which holds the title to the lands where the old Eastern Orthodox Church sits. She used her truck and at times her body, to attempt to block an excavator from demolishing the old church.

Bear said she and other members of the Country Gospel Fellowship were never told the church which sits across from the Meath Park School would be demolished. In response, she parked her truck in front, and said she wouldn’t leave.

She didn’t deny the building needed to be demolished, rather, she wanted to see it respectfully torn down and components of the church saved.

“They’re trying to demolish the church, and it’s just not right,” Bear said. “I just want to let people know it’s time to start protecting our heritage and it’s not right to destroy other people’s property.”

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The church’s domes would be salvaged and donated to the Catholic Church according to Bear. She said the pews were being stored in a community building.

Bear suggested salvaging more components of the church like the stained glass windows, and furniture from the inside which wasn’t too battered. She suggested artists could use wood paneling from the building as frames or wood for their work.

She said when the group obtained the land title 18 years ago, the building was in much better shape. Water damage since impacted the church, and eventually left the foundation sagging.

The Country Gospel Fellowship did what it could to try and support the church. Support beams were placed in the basement under the main floors. Windows were boarded up at one time, and the village of Meath Park requested the construction of a fence around the building.

Meath Park’s Mayor, Michael Hydamacka, said the village council decided to demolish the church in the fall of 2017.

“The building was in a state of disrepair, the foundation was falling in. It’s not secured,” Hydamacka said, adding it also poses a safety concern to students across the street at Meath Park School. “There’s a lot of students there and we do not want anyone getting hurt.”

The village hired a bylaw officer to assess the church and notify anyone who would be affected by the building’s demolition. A letter was sent by registered mail to the Country Gospel Fellowship however Bear and the head of the organization, Abrom Friesen, said they never received the notice.

Friesen said at one point he was working to get the building rebuilt. Now, he wanted to see portions of the church salvaged for future use.

“I’m already to the point where I’m willing to let the building go if they will let me salvage,” Friesen said. “The basement’s full of insulation, and there’s two-by-twelve’s, there’s probably about 40 of them [down there].”

Eventually, RCMP officers from Smeaton were called to the church to remove Bear and Friesen. It appeared as though a compromise was reached between the workers conducting the demolition and the two members of the Country Gospel Fellowship.

Demolition crews were allowed to continue their work after Bear and Friesen collected some of the building materials in the church’s basement.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas