St. Hilda’s seeks $1 million for rebuild

Before last Christmas, Rev. Clarence Li and Bruce Morris, deacon of St. Hilda’s, admitted they were in “a pickle.” The cost to repair St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt had ballooned from $200,000 to more than $900,000.

Now they are embarking on a path to fix that pickle with the launch of their fundraising campaign, Spread the Light, which they hope will raise $1 million.

“I’m feeling incredibly optimistic and excited about what’s lying before us right now,” said Roslyn Mundy, a parishioner and co-chair of the Capital Campaign Team along with Eric Paetkau and Janet McIntosh.

The church faces structural problems – including a roof that’s pushing out its walls – and lots of rot. Local contractor Spani Developments is in charge of the renovations. “They have been unbelievably good to us,” Paetkau said.

“The quote for the renovations is almost $900,000 so we thought we’d have a campaign for $1 million since it’s typical for construction costs to overrun,” Li said. The fundraising campaign has no fixed timeline. “I think we can fairly say we’re prepared for the campaign to go on as long as it needs to,” Mundy said. So far the congregation has raised more than $350,000.

Another St. Hilda’s group is concentrating on smaller fundraising initiatives, such as bake sales, bottle drives and charity dinners, while the Capital Campaign Team will seek larger donations from businesses and individuals. They plan to apply for grants, such as those offered by the Anglican Foundation of Canada, and have launched an online campaign via Go Fund Me. Coast Reporter is a sponsor.

“We have provided shelter for the homeless for the past six years, we sponsor things like Alcoholics Anonymous... We are very much in front of the reconciliation process,” Paetkau said. “St. Hilda’s has been a big feature in the community other than the worship services, and that’s why we’re going to the wider community to try to get some funds.”

While this is the largest fundraising campaign in St. Hilda’s history, it isn’t the first time the church has sought major donations. The congregation was established in 1936, and the current church was built in the early 1980s to keep pace with the growing congregation, which now has 100 members. Parishioners campaigned to raise $265,000 for the build. “We raised that money in less than a year,” Paetkau said.

St. Hilda’s also has connections with the Coast’s music scene. It is a venue for the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts, and boasts the Coast’s only pipe organ. “The acoustics of our building are ideally set up for musical and vocal performances, so those are really being sorely missed in the community,” McIntosh said. Meanwhile, other activities such as meetings and drumming circles take place next door in the parish hall.

While fundraising remains Li’s and the Capital Campaign Team’s focus, organizers are also evolving their vision. Members of the congregation have been meeting to discuss other opportunities for the two-and-a-half-acre property. “What came out of those meetings was that we did not just want to fix this sanctuary that we love. We want to do more than that. This church has decided we will start a parallel process of revisioning the rest of our properties,” Li said.

The church has yet to make a firm commitment on its direction. It plans to conduct a feasibility study and establish what partners might fit.

“Mixed housing was definitely a common theme,” Li said. Any money left over from the renovations could be directed to the redevelopment part of the project.

If donations aren’t sufficient to cover the renovation costs, the church has secured an interim financing arrangement.

Construction is estimated to take six months, though Li is looking more long term. “I would be really happy if we could return to our sanctuary before Christmas 2018.”

Those interested in supporting the project can visit their website at sthilda.ca or facebook.com/sthilda, or donate online at gofundme.com/st-hildas-church-repair-restore.