A small group of passionate, like-minded people are working together to bring back a big enough congregation to allow St. John the Baptist Anglican Church on Ravenscliffe Road to reopen for the summer months.
According to Marie-Louise Bechtold, the people’s warden, the group petitioned and received special permission from the Anglican Church bishop to re-open its doors to the public for a one-month trial. Last Sunday was the first service held there since the church officially closed last year, as the dwindling number of people who attended the church regularly could no longer support it financially. This is a common trend that the smaller, historic churches have been facing in the area for some time. Back in June, it was announced that the tiny Utterson church would be going up for sale, “ending an era from pioneer stock to the present.”
The bishop has heard our voice. This is one last opportunity for us to come together and come to worship and put our energy in and see what we can do.– Marie-Louise Bechtold
Bechtold indicated that a transitional team has been looking at the older Anglican churches in the Muskoka diocese and deem which ones are in dire need of repair and will ultimately face closure. St. John’s continues to be a sound structure, as a $100,000 renovation revamped the building not even 10 years ago. Because the Town of Huntsville owns the church cemetery that surrounds the historic church, it cannot be sold and the Town continues to maintain the grounds.
Bechtold said that there has been a drastic decline in all denominations in the Muskoka area and that is the reason why so many of the smaller, historic churches are facing closures. The numbers just aren’t helping bring in the money that is required to keep them open. There’s not the same attitude toward Sunday church as there was 50 years ago.
Back in March of last year when talk had been circulating about the possibility of the church closing, some of the congregation opted to travel to the tiny Christ Church in Port Sydney to attend Sunday services. However, Bechtold said, the merger with that church “didn’t work out very well.”
Ruth Binks will attest to that. She has been a long-time supporter of St. John’s Church, as her grandfather was once the church priest. She has been vocal in her stand against the church closing and thought it was ridiculous people were asked to drive to Port Sydney to attend Sunday services. She stands firm on her belief that “you can’t make big decisions without careful consideration” and called the church closure “lack of good, plain, ordinary thinking.”
“There is potential there,” Binks said of St. John’s. “I do believe Christianity is a need for most people, individually and as a community. It would take a great deal of hard work to get the people of Ravenscliffe to go back to the church, mostly because there are many new citizens of the area. But many of them do have small children. If there are, as the town planners told me, 200 households within a mile and a half of the church, that number shows there is a need and should be a church for the people.”
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It’s encouraging to hear that the Ravenscliffe community is putting forth this effort, good luck to all. It’s disappointing to to hear that a partnership/relationship with Port Sydney didn’t work out.
I wonder if a renewal like this were featured, both in print and a publicized town hall meeting would attract interested people to save the Utterson United Church. The UC presbytery is disbanding in the fall and each church must return to grass roots as it originally was. The Evergreen charge and trustees are opting to shrink to a sole Church in Windermere. The monies from its sale of Rosseau UC, a couple of months ago will go there with the one or two trustees from that church joining Windermere. I hear the same is in store for Utterson UC, albeit Utterson is the only church in the Evergreen charge that is situated in the Town of Huntsville. A rich history lives there. Not sure where these could be accessed. New people have moved into the community with young families and perhaps this could rejuvenate a new charge/board to step up to the call for this church’s revival? The old hymn ‘Shall we gather at the river’ comes to mind. There is so much potential with Utterson church alone with the Utterson Hall across the way, a perfect partnership. The past demontrated this, when people came from as far away as Toronto for functions put on by UUC womens group then. So much richness, this Community and area thrived on local contributions by people who wanted to serve and see their families as a part of a good community. I would bet the same is true today if people were given the chance to participate in this local church.
I’m thinking of a particular church, one of the oldest in the region that was saved through exactly the same process and now runs successfully in the Summer: ST Olaf’s. With hard work, pot lucks, bake sales and other activities in the church yard, and people’s offers to host music and gathering functions, it is and remains a beautiful place to pray for all denominations in the summer months. Just saying, it could happen in Utterson too if given a chance.
Thanks to Marie Louise Bechtold for the update on worship at St. John the Baptist, Ravenscliffe! Just one small correction, please. The town of Huntsville does not own the cemetery property and does not maintain the cemetery at all. Never has! The entire property is owned by the church, under title of the Anglican Diocese of Algoma. The cemetery is maintained by voluntary donations of time, work and money from parishioners present and past, and by community members who wish to help support the church financially in their commitment to maintaining the cemetery. The cemetery account balance is actually very healthy, but monies donated to the cemetery can not be used for any other purpose, and therefore are unavailable for the ongoing expenses involved in being open, and having worship together.
If you have ever thought about coming to St. John’s, this is the time to do it. You will be warmly welcomed. As a congregation, we are enjoying this time of discovering whether or not there are sufficient local people willing to participate in worship at St. John the Baptist to keep it viable….to keep it open as a summer parish, or perhaps on an even longer scale… people with a heart to worship, a desire to become part of a family-oriented faith community, and with some time to help with on-going parish tasks. Financial help is much appreciated, but it is not sufficient in and of itself. People ARE the Church. And this building in which we worship needs more people.
As the current Priest, I am enthusiastically committed to helping to make this trial re-opening a time of growth and renewal in so many ways. The goal is not merely to keep a lovely building open; the goal is to share hope and joy between neighbours and friends who share a love for God loyalty to Jesus, and passion about His mission. It would be great to help some new folk to find themselves feeling at home in this little family of God. If you have questions or ideas which you think may be helpful, please just be in touch.
The barbeque on July 26th at 5pm is not an annual undertaking….it is one in a long line of monthly or even bi-monthly barbeques hosted by St. John’s for the better part of a decade. Always great food, always great conversation, and always great people glad they’ve come. If your interest has been piqued by this Doppler news about the Church on the hill in Ravenscliffe, come on out! We would all be delighted to have a full hall, an overflowing deck, and tables in every nook and cranny. Hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, other yummy sides and desserts will make for happy “tummies” and getting to know each other better will make for happy hearts.
Sunday Service time is 10am, July 22nd, July 29th and August 5th, with more services possible depending upon how things are progressing to that point.
Happily submitted,
Rev. Judie Cooper
[email protected]
I have never attended worship at St, John’s but admired the work and numerous activities undertaken by the people there. I was surprised in some ways to hear about the decision to close it to worship, yet not surprised to hear of yet another church struggling to meet its financial commitments. Over my years of experience I have found that it is much easier to get people to commit to “bricks and mortar” goals than to every day ones.
I agree with the article about the importance of a place of “community” and the need for that community to be inclusive.