A centre for faith in Miami is getting a second lease on life as a home for the arts.
The Miami United Church shuts down at the end of June, but the Miami Arts Association takes possession of the historic building as of July 1.
While it is unfortunate to see an end to worship there, the arts association is glad to be able to step in, as it had been searching for a place to call home.
“We’re just happy that these two things coincided … it seemed like it was meant to be,” said arts association chairperson Heather Imrie. “It is an absolutely perfect fit for us.”
“It’s good to acknowledge that there will be new life in the building because it’s been really rather sad … but we just knew it was time to gracefully let go,” said Audrey Douglas, a church member and volunteer.
The Miami United church was built in 1889 originally as Chalmers Presbyterian Church. In 1924, its congregation amalgamated with that of the local Methodist church to form Miami United Church, using the former Presbyterian building.
In recent years, the congregation had been declining, and a retired minister who had been providing services was no longer going to be available, so the time had come.
“It’s been a gathering place for community functions for about a hundred years. It’s been a gathering place for not only members of the church but also members of the community who have shared events with us,” said Douglas.
“It’s been a place that has brought people together for worship, for community functions, for celebrations … so it’s the close of an era,” she said. “But we are thrilled that the arts association is hopefully going to keep it as a vibrant part of our community.
“We were all very, very excited when we were facing the possibility of closure, and this group approached us,” said Douglas. “They said we’re really sad this may be happening for you, but we are very interested in purchasing this building.”
It is an exciting step for the arts association, which only formed in January 2023. It had actually been renting space in the church for its programming, so to some degree it already felt like home, said Imrie.
“It’s kind of sad now that our church is going to close because it’s been a part of the community life for a hundred years,” she said. “We do feel it’s a great opportunity for our association. We’re a new association, but this is absolutely everything we’ve ever conceived of doing one day. We could do it all there, and in fact it’s the only building in town that really would be able to host everything.
“Another tremendous advantage is the fact that it’s still going to remain a public building in town that people can still go to … we won’t really have lost that,” she added. “It’s going to continue to be maintained, and we’re not going to lose that beautiful facility.”
Imrie added a section of the space will be dedicated to the history and legacy of the church.
“Part of our gallery will be committed to a permanent exhibition to honour the United Church in Miami,” she said. “It’s a way we can preserve all of the pictures and preserve the life of the church in our community.”
Once they take possession of the building, they will be able to continue holding meetings and hosting classes there. Imrie anticipates they will do a grand opening sometime this summer or early fall.
“We feel really good about it,” she said. “They really made it possible for us to run with this, and we are just really grateful to the church board for the faith that they’ve shown in us and allowing us to take over the building.”
“Some of these old buildings, they just sit in decline and ruin, and somebody buys them and they have a plan but maybe it doesn’t come to fruition,” said Douglas. “We’re happy that this is still going to be a productive part of the community.”
