Huntsville Town Council got a special visit from representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada at their January 22 meeting, who bore an unfortunate message about dwindling congregations and the difficulty facing small rural churches and cemeteries in the area.
Susan Pincoe, Lay Steward with the Deanery of Muskoka, Reverend Doug Prebble, Property Consultant with the Muskoka Deanery, and Archdeacon Dr. Harry Huskins with the Diocese of Algoma were before councillors to talk about “something that is a bit sad and unfortunate for us,” said Huskins.
He said similar conversations are taking place throughout the country as many smaller congregations in rural areas are struggling. “Many are doing quite well, as a matter of fact, but some of the smaller ones, and you’re only too familiar with this, face a challenge with aging members, declining revenues and a culture frankly in which much of the volunteer work done around cemeteries and church buildings, and so on, is done by those who grew up in the 50s, 60s and 70s, when you just volunteered for your community as part of what you did, and it’s not quite the culture that we have now.”
From left, Archdeacon Dr. Harry Huskins with the Diocese of Algoma, Susan Pincoe, Lay Steward with the Deanery of Muskoka, and Reverend Doug Prebble, Property Consultant with the Muskoka Deanery, speak to council about issues facing rural churches in this area.
He said in many cases cemeteries and churches are being looked after by volunteers who have been doing the work for 50 years or so, and they are now in their 70s and 80s and are simply unable to continue doing the work. They’re also facing dwindling congregations and some are suggesting that the Bishop dissolve the congregation and close the church. Huskins said under those circumstances, and in consultation with the community, church representatives are in the process of figuring out what the best way of handling the property might be – especially as they were generally donated by the community to the church. He said consultations will continue on “how to best either return the property to the community or use it for some other purpose. And that’s really what we’re here tonight to do, is to say that we’re in this entire area of Parry Sound/Muskoka in a series of consultations with congregations, with communities in which they’re located (and) with the wider municipalities about the future of some of these congregations and there is just no template, cookie-cutter model about how to go forward. Each situation is different, each congregation is different, each property is different,” he added.
Huskins said the group was before council because as far as the cemeteries go, they are the “holders of last resort… But we don’t want to go to that last resort if there are any other alternatives that are better for the community and the people involved,” he said.
So which church properties are they talking about?
The properties being addressed in the Huntsville area so far, according to Prebble, are: St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Utterson on Aspdin Road, Christ Anglican Church on Christ Church Street in Port Sydney and St. George’s Anglican Cemetery on Lancelot Road in Utterson.
When a church closes it’s very, very hard on the people… there may only be eight or ten people (in the congregation) but a lot of times it’s their parents that brought the place up and have been there forever. In my own parish, I’ve got ladies in there in their 90s that went to Sunday school in that same church, so when we close it’s a very, very sensitive issue. So we’re working with them but there are times… that the buildings get old and it’s just down to a point where they’re too far out and people gravitate to the urban centres. Reverend Doug Prebble
He left a copy of a booklet he put together with information about the properties for council’s review. Included among the church properties for discussion is information about St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Beatrice, which has already been deconsecrated.
“We’re just kind of looking to people for some guidance and cooperation if we can get it here because the cemeteries have to remain in perpetuity,” he noted, adding that more information is being compiled about the cemeteries, how many people are interred in them and how much money is available for maintenance of each, funds which would be transferred with the property, explained Prebble.
“The one thing that we are not going to do is just stick a for sale sign on properties or, frankly, send a registered letter to the municipality declaring the cemetery abandoned. We are just not going to do that kind of thing,” assured Huskins. He said if there is a community interest in the property, it would be considered before any sale.
Huntsville Councillor Jason FitzGerald spoke of Madill Church and how the building had a cultural resonance with a community group who came together and took the former church over. “We may be able to find ourselves in a similar situation thanks to the creativeness of our Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage and her Director. They were able to make that happen very efficiently,” he said.
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison spoke of the importance of the cemeteries in the area. “There’s no doubt that everyone around this table, and certainly in the community, is conscious of the importance of preserving the dignity of those who’ve been buried in these cemeteries… I think that weighs on us heavily and… we obviously want to make sure our obligation is met,” said Aitchison, adding that although related, the buildings are an entirely different issue. He wondered if the municipality was to take over the cemetery at a particular parish, whether the church itself may be able to continue functioning without that burden.
“If there’s a way for us to work with you and the local congregation to do that, I think that would be an important thing to do, just to keep those churches alive,” he said.
Discussions are expected to continue.
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It has become evident over the past several months that there is a need for a dedicated space for community theatre in the area. We currently have a theatre group that has had to venture as far north as Burks Falls to find an appropriate venue to perform their latest production.
A church seems like an ideal facility for a theatre group. It meets the needs of the group and allows the building to remain a centre of the community.
I have spent 15 years in Port Sydney and have given much thought to how this church and its adjoining land may evolve with its inevitable congregational demise. Why not consider a transitional role so that the property can serve the community as a combined retirement facility and small non-denominational chapel?
This would offer older residents a reason to remain near their families , generate long term local work opportunities and offer economic benefits to the village.
Surely a worthy developer or retirement home operator would see this as a win- win situation.
All I would ask is to preserve the sacred grounds and honour those who have helped build this beautiful church with best view in the world!
Churches are non-profit organizations; and as such, are tax-exempt. Also, any monies available upon dissolution would have to support an entity with a similar mission statement. If this also applies to capital value (building and land), then the future use of the property is rather tightly circumscribed, e.g. a church camp or school.
The ‘special visit’ and presentation by representatives of the Anglian Church of Canada to Huntsville Town Council this past week concerning the closing of a number of rural churches within the Deanery of Muskoka raises many questions around the changing role and the significant restructuring of religious institutions and faith not just in Muskoka but throughout Canadian society. One might conclude from this ‘uncertainty looms’ presentation that religious belief and practice are dying – including the belief in God, as was predicted by the ‘death-of-God’ theologians back in the 1960s – but current research indicates, this is not necessarily so.
Reginald Bibby, a research sociologist at the University of Lethbridge, has been studying religious trends in Canada over the last 40 years. In his most recent work, A New Day: The Resilience and Restructuring of Religion in Canada, published in 2012, Bibby states that “things are anything but over for religion in Canada. That said, things are very different from the past … ‘religious polarization’ sums up the current Canadian religious situation.”
In New Day, he notes the following religious trends that have taken place since 1945, the end of the Second World War:
• the proportion of Canadians who have identified themselves as Roman Catholic has remained steady at around 40%;
• the ‘No Religion’ category has jumped from less than 1% to about 25%;
• evangelicals (mainly conservative Protestants, including Baptists, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Alliance, Nazarenes, and many independent churches) have risen from 8% to 11%, with most of the increase taking place over the last 15 years;
• people identifying with ‘Other World Faiths’ – including Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Judaism – now comprise 8% of the population versus 3% in 1931;
• all four major ‘Mainline Protestant’ (United, Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran) have declined from 48% of population in 1931 to 17% in 2009.
A 60-page primer of A New Day: The Resilience and Restructuring of Religion in Canada includes statistics, graphs, with a down-to-earth description, is available online in a PDF format. It’s a must read to be informed as we navigate the ever increasing shifting and contested terrain of spiritual/religious faith in an increasingly complex Canadian society, and world community.
Link to the New Day PDF file: http://www.reginaldbibby.com/images/A_NEW_DAY_Sept_12_2012.pdf