The congregation at Union United Church in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood is praying for more than just another 117 years of existence.
While celebrating that milestone Sunday, members of the oldest Black church in Quebec were also hoping it won’t take a miracle to solve a problem that involves a no-stopping rule in front of the church.
“Funerals, weddings, nobody can stop (in front of the church),” stated choir member, Henly Wilson, while waiting to enter for Sunday service.
“You offloading something for the church, the bus comes behind you blowing like crazy.”
The problem, members point out, are signs in front of the church prohibiting motor vehicles from stopping because of a bus stop just metres away from the front door. Congregants argue that the restriction affects mostly elders who represent more than half the congregation, and many of whom get dropped off by car.
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“They come to the activities of the church,” former church board member Erene Anthony told Global News. “It’s not just on Sundays. They come during the week for food bank, they come for the seniors group on Thursdays.”
It also creates a problem, others point out, for workers and volunteers dropping off supplies for the food bank. According to them, the issue becomes even more serious on special occasions when there are more people. On a street with very limited parking space, they want the no-stopping signs removed and space reserved in front of the church for drop-offs and pickups.
“Please move your bus stop further down,” implored longtime member Charlene Hunte. “It’s been too may years we’ve been (trying) to speak to you, from 2015.”
Now, they’ve launched a petition to push the city’s transit authority, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), to make the changes. Members say it’s a question of respect and believe there should have been consultation with the church before installing the bus stop so close to their building.
“We need to have the space free so that the church can operate, a church that has been in the community for so long, doing so much in terms of community work,” Anthony argued.
Global News contacted the STM and is still waiting to hear back.