PLUS

Silent Auction Presented by
St. Mary’s Youth Group
Friday April 30 – 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.
St. Mary’s School Auditorium
For Tickets Call:
Bernice and Brian O’Neill at 324-7098
Jim Callaghan at 324-7936
Wylie Suggitt at 324-0225
Larry McLaughlin at 324-9441
The Rectory Office at 324-4828
Admission:
$15 per person / $40 per family
(Tickets also available at the door)
Volunteers needed call 705-324-7098

A committee has been formed to raise money for this project.

Donation forms are in the bulletin if you would like to donate.

For information please contact John O’Reilly at 324-6491 or Deeno Pearsell at 320-8813 or the Parish Office at 324-4828.

You will receive a Charitable Income Tax Return.

We have a souvenir wooden brick if you would like one that states that you are a DONOR.

Any amount is acceptable to donate; no one is excluded.

Our donors so far include: Olivia & Max Kuper, Erika Hollingshead, Fr. Tom Lynch, Wayne & Brenda Curtis, Mike Byrne, Len & Catherine Albrecht, Robert Milton, Doreen Grace, Ken & Josette Chase, Gary Byrne, Norbert Krommer, Marg Wansborough, Mark & Susan Mooney, Norma Cadorin, and Andrea Polino.

Would you be interested in “Sponsoring a Kneeler?” $150 EACH COULD DO THE TRICK.

There are approximately 175 kneelers and it would sure speed things up if you are able to! We’d appreciate the generosity.

For Tickets Call:
Bernice and Brian O’Neill at 324-7098
Jim Callaghan at 324-7936
Wylie Suggitt at 324-0225
Larry McLaughlin at 324-9441
The Rectory Office at 324-4828
Admission:
$15 per person / $40 per family
What A Deal!
(Tickets also available at the door)

Here is an easy and consistent way to support the Restoration Campaign for our historic Church.

The fundraising Campaign will be buying prepaid cards for various amounts at local businesses such as all the local grocery stores, Canadian Tire even – yes- Tim Hortons – and you can buy them here at the church.

Six percent of all the money spent comes back for the Restoration fund. That’s it!

Everybody has to buy groceries and other house stuff and this is an easy way to give a very needed boost to our ongoing campaign.

You get the cards; use them like cash at your favourite stores and the percentage works for the Church.

We’ll have the co-ordinators at the doors to run this initiative. We hope to kick off in a few weeks.

Here are some before and after pictures of the renovations done to our church, which you might find very interesting. As you can see, some fine workmanship and your generosity has helped renovate our church to its original looks. Thank you.

View more pictures before and after renovation.

Report by Larkin Architects

gutting complete

frame work beginning

Larkin Report

The present St. Mary’s Church has a history that dates back to 1859, when on Christmas day of that year, Holy Mass was celebrated for the first time. The church was thirty-five feet shorter then, and did not have a spire or vestry. Inside the church there was a choir loft, and galleries that extended down both sides of the Nave. The spire was added in 1890, and the worship space was enlarged in 1894 to its current size. Other changes made to the church include the addition of a new boiler room, and the removal of the interior galleries. In 1996, a new barrier free access and washroom were built on the west side of the church. Changes made to the main entry steps were completed in 1999. A new roof has also been added within the last couple of years, and at the beginning of this year, the boiler was replaced as part of an insurance claim.

Based upon visual inspection over several site visits, discussions with staff, and a review of church records, it appears that in addition to the above changes, other maintenance related repairs, upgrades, and restoration work have been undertaken over the years. Subsequently, the church is in relatively good condition for a building of its vintage. However, during our review, we identified some items that will require attention as financial resources become available. These include some life safety issues, restoration and/or repairs to masonry, window frames, roof fascias and soffits, painting, and the first floor wood structure. In addition, layout changes that reflect programme needs for the parish have also been addressed. Notwithstanding any initial investment in capital expenditure, it will also be necessary to implement an ongoing, regularly scheduled maintenance programme to ensure that the church will continue to serve the needs of the parish over the long term. We have appended a copy of the Archdiocese of Toronto Church Maintenance Guidelines and Guideline Checklist to assist you in establishing a maintenance schedule to suit the particular needs of your physical plant and site.

This report offers a review of existing conditions for the church only and provides recommendations for remedial action where appropriate. Observations are based upon visual investigations only, completed by Larkin Architect Limited without the assistance of destructive testing/investigations and, without the assistance of mechanical, or electrical consultants. This report does not constitute a Life Safety Study under the Fire Marshal’s Act, Fire Code (R.R.O 1990, Reg. 454).

With the exception of improvements to life safety in the church, which should be addressed immediately, much of the remaining work identified can be addressed with a phased implementation programme. We have preliminary budget amounts for each identified item and listed them in order of priority. After life safety issues, problems associated with the integrity of the building envelope should be addressed next, followed by improvements to critical interior systems and finishes, with final consideration given to discretionary items. In all cases, the safety and well being of the staff and parishioners is paramount. We fully expect that priorities will evolve to suit the financial resources available at any one time following additional discussion and input from the building committee. Election to proceed with any of the identified work may require the involvement of specialty consultants and/or contractors in order to refine the scope and corresponding budgets.

Larkin Architect Limited remains committed to working with the parish building committee to further refine identified needs and provide cost effective solutions for their implementation.