CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Rev. Andrew MacDonald sold a closed-down church to become a personal cottage in 2014.
The Catholic priest never ministered at the former church, St. Bernadette’s Mission. He had just moved to western P.E.I., so the responsibility fell on him.
It was already deconsecrated, meaning it and the land were no longer dedicated to God. The diocese did this because it lacked the community and resources to keep it going.
“It’s just something that had to be done,” MacDonald said. “That’s the practical reality.”
Losing a building that once brought people together can be sad, he said.
“It’s like a death in the family.”
This could be the reality for many churches across Canada. Recently, a national heritage group predicted about 30 per cent of Canadian churches will be sold or demolished in the next decade.
Robert Pajot, project leader for the National Trust for Canada, said this is a ballpark estimate. The group is basing its statement on experience, discussions with faith communities and the number of religious establishments listed in a 2009 study which they’re trying to have updated, he said.
“It’s a judgment call.”
One reason church doors are closing is that society is becoming more secular.
“Affiliation with religious organizations has gone down over the past 20 years,” Pajot said. “They just don’t have the people to support them.”
While Pajot’s group wants to protect the historic buildings from being neglected or torn down, they’re advocating the community assets churches provide, like offering space for fundraisers and Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Collectively, we can all benefit to having these places.”
Another concern is that church communities are aging and aren’t being renewed by younger people. For P.E.I., MacDonald thinks this is, in part, due to the economy.
He serves Sacred Heart Parish in Alberton and St. Mark’s in Burton. Many young people move away from rural areas because it’s hard to support a life and family there, resulting in unattended churches.
He has a leadership team to help keep the church community alive. Its goal is to focus church-goers on the reason they’re gathering and rejuvenate the faith of people who’ve stopped attending.
“If a parish is basically a glorified social club, then they have no chance in surviving,” MacDonald said. “We’re the church, so we come together to worship Christ.”
Urban areas are being affected, too. Rev. Catherine Crooks, minister at Trinity United Church in Charlottetown, said the United Church of Canada is trying to counter the country’s shrinking congregations.
“We’re taking that trend seriously.”
She doesn’t agree that church communities are dying. Rather, they’re changing to become something new, she said. “Out of death comes resurrection.”
Trinity United is working on creative ways to best utilize its space and support community in a way that aligns with their values.
“That would help us sustain ourselves.”
Pajot often points to St. Mary’s Church in Indian River as an example of a deconsecrated church that continues to serve its community on P.E.I. It became an events venue that hosts a successful music festival.
“It’s one of those examples of what a community can do to keep a place standing,” he said.
