March Circuit Rider
March 30th, 2012THE CIRCUIT RIDER Volume 44 Number 4 March 2012
Dear Friend,
Our Lenten journey this year has taken on life of its own. Instead of wandering in the spiritual desert we have been trying to find our way around the physical plant at St. James. After the fire of two weeks ago, our regular life at the church has been totally disrupted. You will read more about this in the enclosed report from the Committee of Stewards.
We are very fortunate that the church was not destroyed and that we are able to continue our worship life together. When all is said and done, perhaps the fire was a blessing in disguise. Much of our back building will be restored within a few months and we will have a better place to work out of for our outreach ministries. In the mean time, there are still a lot of challenges before us.
I want to thank all of those who have been working so hard to get us re-organized. Our community of faith has really pulled together in the face of this adversity and I believe that we will be stronger and better for having come through these challenging times.
As we enter Holy Week we are called to remember another Christian community from the first century, who were also caught up in events beyond their control. We join with them on this annual pilgrimage from the cross of Calvary to the empty tomb of Easter. While this is a familiar journey for many of us, it is not to be taken lightly.
Good Friday provides us an opportunity to reflect upon the cruelty and injustice that exists in the places where we live. When we look at much of what is going on in our world, it is not a pretty picture. The challenge for us is to not be overwhelmed by these situations – to not let them have the final word in our lives or in our world. Good Friday, and all that it points to, is not an easy place to be! But, it is only in stopping at the cross that we , as a Christian community, can begin the important journey into hope. In spite of all the suffering, pain and death at Calvary, in the end, there was an empty tomb.
We are an Easter people: a people of hope and resurrection. This is the Gospel, ‘the good news’, of Jesus Christ! We are called to be the messengers that through Christ all things can be made new in our lives and in our world. I invite you to participate in the important spiritual services of Good Friday and Easter here at St. James or in other faith communities where you live. Our Easter message to our communities and to our world is really quite simple: CHRIST IS RISEN!
How faithfully we live out our Easter message will be seen in how many around us respond to our resurrection proclamation with the words; HE IS RISEN, INDEED!
I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Easter!
Rev. Arlen
- Good Friday 12:15 p.m. “Litany” by Thomas Tallis
- Easter 5:00 a.m Vigil in The Square
- 6:00 a.m. Sunrise Service in The Square
- 11:00 a.m. Blessing of Paschal Candle. Holy Communion.
Official Board: Wednesday, April 11th 6 p.m. in the sanctuary.
A Report from the Committee of Stewards
On the morning of Monday, March 12th, 2012 a fire broke out at St. James. The fire started in the main room of the St. James Drop-in Centre on the third floor. The sprinkler system quickly kicked in to control the fire and our new alarm system, installed last year, alerted the Montreal Fire Department who acted promptly to extinguish the fire. We are truly grateful the building was saved. But water created major damage on the second floor, main floor and into the basement.
This damage affected our regular operations as well as the operation of our tenants, MIF (Ministries in French), MCM (Montreal City Mission), St. James Drop in Centre and all our regular programs. Quick intervention by Pablo Gonzales and Allen Fuller ensured that a cleaning company moved on site only a few hours after the fired was extinguished..
Damages: On the second floor, water caused major damage in Anne Jones’ office, the photocopy room, Rev. Bonnar’s office, the chapel, and the offices of MIF. On the main floor, water went through the ceilings and walls damaging Dawson Hall, the Douglas Room, the Kitchen, Room 13, the Richmond Room, and the hallway leading to Dawson. The Vestry and the old nursery room were not touched. On the third floor, smoke and water caused damages in the St. James Drop-in and water damaged the floors of the MCM offices. The newly restored organ is not affected by this, although verifications are to be done before it is used again.
Work needed: Most of the work to date was to dry the building with major blowers all over the ground, 2nd and 3rd floors in order to remove the humidity embedded in the walls and floors. Two weeks after the fire and this work continues.. All furniture was removed from the three floors so the decontamination and construction can go ahead. The evaluation to detect asbestos and lead paint is still on-going and all the results are not yet back.
Challenges continue to build on existing challenges: The moment something (wall, door, electric, etc.) was damaged by water or fire, there is a need to fix this in accordance to today’s building code. A large section of the back building is protected by the Patrimoine, meaning that there is a need to fix things as they were built. There is a challenge for the insurance company to meet the requirements of the Patrimoine. Each piece protected by the Patrimoine will need to be evaluated in order to see to what extent it can be fixed with today’s material or to what extent it can be different from the original. This may cause a delay in construction.
Insurance Policy: A meeting was held on March 19th with our insurance company. Fortunately, our insurance policy has an excellent coverage:
- Building (structure, floors, walls, etc): $15,597,436.00
- Content of the Church: $ 1,512,703.00
- Extra work that may be needed: $500,000.00
- Deductible: $2,500.00
Emergency meeting: An emergency Official Board meeting, called by Rev Bonnar, and chaired by Liette Michaud was held on Tuesday March 20th. It allowed all committees to address the situation following the fire. Necessary board decisions were made in order to move ahead with critical actions like appointing a project manager, making decisions on the usage of the basement space, and dealing with the different programs : space for choir and the music program, Every Kid Choir rehearsals, Young Adults activities, Sunday School program, funerals and weddings, coffee hour, Bible study and open door. M&P provided guidelines regarding staffing issues and possible lay-offs. They also reminded us to make sure to look after our staff as they are really affected by this sudden change in their working conditions.
Relocation: The back of the church will be closed for up to six months until demolition and construction work is completed. Administrative offices were relocated in the old Nursery where Anne Jones and Rev. Bonnar will share a space until the completion of renovations. Allan Fuller is supervising all the work being done and he is dealing with all the decisions that need to be made with the insurance company and the contractor on-site.
Depot: A meeting was held Friday morning with the volunteers of the Food & Clothing Depot. As decided at the Official Board, the space now used by the Depot in the basement will be reclaimed by Stewards to allow the Church activities to continue. The depot will keep their small side room and reduce their operations to food distribution only for a period of up to 6 months. We thank them for their cooperation as they are quite affected by this sudden change.
Open Door: A meeting was held March 28th with Rob Bull and some member of his team. Open Door will resume activities on Tuesday, April 3rd; opening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday as well as Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.. When we resolve some staffing issues, the Sunday time slot will return to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rob still welcomes volunteers.
Entrance to the building: Work has been completed on the new West Side Door (City Councillors) with the installation of a new lock and the re-location of the alarm panel. This door will be accessible on Sundays for entrance. The original City Councillors entrance and the St. Alexandre door will not be accessible for a number of months.
Cause of the fire: The investigation is on-going and there is no official statement at this point.
Jean Lagueux, Chair,
Committee of Stewards