Historic site is in need of an upgrade and residents can help
Parishioners of the St. Andrews on the Red Church have gotten together a fundraising committee and are saving up to replace the building’s roof. As the church is a historic site, the restoration requires that they use original materials meaning this roof will need to be made of cedar shakes. Though they have not yet received any federal or provincial grants for the restoration, necessity has caused this project to have to be undertaken soon. In order to make it easier for the community to help out they have opened a GoFundMe page in which donations are accepted.
“In 2021 we had a big windstorm, it wasn’t a tornado but we had twisted trees and a lot of shingles blew off,” said Muriel Pastetnik, fundraising board member.
At that time, they started fundraising specifically for a new roof and since then the need to replace the roof this summer season has become apparent to preserve the historic structure.
“The church was consecrated officially by Bishop Anderson December 19 of 1849,” explained Randy Grandpre, chair of the fundraising committee.
In addition to the church fundraising for a new roof this year they are going to be celebrating the church’s 175th anniversary. St. Andrews on the Red is the oldest church in continuous use in Western Canada. They will be having a historical service from 1849 as one of their many events this year on October 20.
“A lot of people don’t realize when they see [the church], or they come here for things, they don’t realize that we use the church every week. They think it’s just for these special events but we’re here every Sunday,” said Fern Born, fundraising committee member.
The group believes that the success of the church over the years is down to the fact that they have a dedicated congregation and try to create a friendly and welcoming environment for all people.
Over the years the group has worked to restore the church as it’s needed it and their hard work has resulted in the church being named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1970. The province acknowledged the structure again in 1990 as a Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site.
Barbara Gessner, people’s warden, explained that the original church was a wooden structure which was put up when Founder Rev. (later Archdeacon) William Cochran started the church in 1831. The church became too small for all of the parishioners and so the current larger structure was built.
The church itself is a testament to our area’s history. It was made in the Gothic Revival style and is an example of what is known as a pre-Tractarian church design. The design of the ceiling, however, is in the shape of an inverted York Boat. Because of our area’s marine heritage, many area residents would have been knowledgeable about boat construction and would have realized this was a strong design for the roof. In addition, the wood used came from what is now known as Bird’s Hill and the stone for the church came from a quarry on the banks of the Red River a mile or two north of the church. Even the stained glass window above the altar was brought from England to the Red River Settlement through the United States and from Fort Garry to St. Andrews by Red River cart. This nod to history and local culture has been carried throughout the years. The pews, though not originals, were installed in 1885 and the kneelers are covered in buffalo hide which came from the Winnipeg Police Force’s great coats which were donated to the church when the police officers no longer wore buffalo coats in the 1960s.
The building and maintaining of the church has been a community effort even from the very beginning.
“They built it, basically, in stretches. They built, I think if I remember correctly, they did the foundation and they built basically up to the level the windows one year and then the next year they built a bit more and eventually they got it up high enough so they could put a roof on it but that took them four years,” said Rev. Jim Kirkpatrick.
The most recent renovation that the church has undergone was the restoration of the bell tower. Like the restoration of the roof now, because of the historic site designations, restoration must be done with historic materials and in keeping with the original structure. This means items like the original bell are still in the structure today and will continue to be in the future.
As for their current restoration, the fundraising committee members say that the last time that the roof was done was 40 years ago so it makes sense that it would be in need of repair at this point and that they plan to tackle it together as they did for the belltower restoration.
“We did fundraising then, as we are doing now,” said Born.
The fundraising started with a letter-writing campaign to past parishioners and continues with many of their annual events.
Some upcoming events that residents can look forward to that are directly supporting the roof restoration are the High Tea that will be at the Selkirk Community Arts Centre (Gwen Fox Gallery) on May 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. and the yard sale, BBQ, and book sale that they are going to be hosting on June 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will also be hosting a free Canada Day open house on June 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. and July 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Born feels it’s important that buildings like this one continue to exist in our communities.
“It’s not just an Anglican church. It’s not just our church. It’s a part of the history of the area, and a heritage building, and I think draws a lot of tourists to the area,” she said.
If residents would like to attend the church services they are more than welcome to stop by on Sunday mornings for their traditional Anglican service.
“We were a little bit more traditional but you know, we’re still very welcoming, very friendly. We have refreshments and stuff after churches and we laugh and we smile and have a good time,” said Kirkpatrick.
To donate to the GoFundMe campaign visit gofund.me/8f5f6936 where you can also learn a bit more. There are also donation options at the church’s website at standrewsonthered.ca/donate. Additionally, their website is a great resource for learning more about the church’s history in the area and has contact information that residents can pass along questions to.
