EDMONTON- After hours of deliberation Saturday, an 89-year-old church in Lamont County has been given another chance.
Church officials held a general meeting at the Mundare Recreation Centre Saturday afternoon, to discuss the future of the structurally troubled Spaca Moskalyk Ukrainian Catholic Church.
A vote on whether to move forward on preservation of the church was meant to take place Saturday. However, it was decided that there are simply too many questions around whether or not the funds are in place to preserve the church, and whether or not it is safe to do so.
“You’ve got to open up the roof, so into the trusses and have a look at the trusses and the dome structure, because there is visible damage you can see from inside the church, so it has to be looked at,” said Dennis Fedoruk, vice-president of the parish council.
Cliff Moroziuk, a former parish council president leading efforts to preserve the church, hoped to convince parishioners to present a case for a stripped-down renovation.
“Our people want to preserve this church, which was built by our grandparents and great-grandparents,” Moroziuk said earlier this week.
“A lot of these people are failing to understand the importance of the preservation of this church to the families that are buried there.”
Built in 1924 by Ukrainian homesteaders, the picturesque wooden church sits on a foundation that has crumbled. Monthly masses ended in the 1990s amid declining membership, and the church began functioning as a place for annual graveyard gatherings.
After years of modest fundraising efforts to repair the structure, the church was declared structurally unsafe in the fall of 2011. Faced with a foundation repair bill of up to $775,000, the parish council held a vote to destroy the church. But, on March 9, the burning of the church was halted by a petition.
The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton says burning a church is a traditional way of deconsecrating a sacred structure. But the prospect of the building’s impending destruction rallied opposition. Needing just 25 signatures to force a general meeting, Moroziuk submitted a petition with 90 signatures, limited to family members of people buried in the church graveyard.
In the days leading up to the March 9 burning, Bishop David Motiuk met with both sides, reviewed all the engineering reports and ordered a six-month delay so fundraising alternatives to save the church could be considered.
In the meantime, Moroziuk has found two Strathcona County firms – Helical Pier Systems and Abarent Construction – willing to donate supplies and labour for foundation repairs to keep the church standing. Typically used in industrial applications, the unconventional and cheaper fix would involve steel plates welded to a shaft to hold the structure in place. The retired principal has also been getting quotes to paint the church and fix other structural problems, including a badly damaged roof.
Even if the building is saved and rehabilitated, both sides agree it will no longer be used for masses.
Although insisting nobody wants to see the church destroyed, members of the parish council worried the vote would lead to an eventual replay of the decision made nearly two years ago.
Fedoruk said the donation of foundation work is “substantial,” and he insisted the remaining work ahead is daunting. Estimates for roof repairs have mostly fallen between $50,000 and $75,000, while Fedoruk said total renovations will take at least $250,000 and countless volunteer hours.
Moroziuk said estimates he has gathered have consistently come in tens of thousands of dollars cheaper.
Originally built for $8,800, fundraising for the church required a cash call of $40 per quarter of land for members. Fedoruk said a similar cash call today, adjusted for inflation, could ultimately save the church, but figures his equivalent share would be about $6,000. He’s skeptical people will be able or willing to give that much.
“People today don’t want to sacrifice the way our pioneers sacrificed,” Fedoruk said. “To restore that church to a condition where it will sustain another 100 years of standing is going to cost close to a million dollars.”
Parishioners decided to set up a preservation fund for any unforseen repairs needed if the group does decide to go ahead and preserve Spaca Moskalyk.
The group will meet again on September 30. In the meantime, further opinions will be sought to determine if the building is structurally sound.
With files from Global News.
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