Some Gimli residents rallied around one of the RM of Gimli’s municipal heritage buildings last week after the building’s furnace blew its last puff of heat.
People who use the church were concerned about their access to and the future of the historic building that’s 121 years old and serves the community in a number of ways.
The Gimli Unitarian church on Second Avenue. In addition to church services, the church is used by the A-Spire Players theatrical troupe and as a film-screening venue by the Gimli International Film Festival
One Gimli resident, whose family donates to the church, is encouraging other members of the community to give some thought to helping the church pay for a furnace upgrade.
Robert T. Kristjanson, who attended the Unitarian church as a boy, said with the furnace having failed and a number of different user groups depending on the church for cultural events, now is the time for people to consider stepping up.
“There’s a lot of ranking people [people with means] who belong to the Unitarian church. Now is the time to dig down a little and see what you can do for your church, especially this time of year,” said Kristjanson. “It’s close to Christmas and people should remember their church — whatever church they belong to. I’m standing behind my church at this time of year when we have to thank someone for what we’ve got.”
The two-storey wood-framed Unitarian church at 76 Second Ave. was built by volunteers from 1904-1905. It became the mother church of the Unitarian movement in western Canada after four of Manitoba’s Icelandic congregations spilt from the Lutheran synod. It has Gothic Revival (18-19th century) features (e.g., steep roof, lancet windows), a bell tower and a spire that draws the eye up to heaven. It provided space for the first Gimli town office in 1908 and for the Gimli courthouse, according to the Manitoba Historical Society. It was made a municipal heritage site in 1996. It can seat 100 people.
Kristjanson said he can remember clear as day attending Sunday school and celebrating Christmas over 85 or so years ago at the historic church.
“I was very small and I went with my aunt, my dad’s sister, all the time when she was a Sunday school teacher there. She took me there until I forget how old [I was]. It’s the only church I went to. And I went there as a young man to my grandfather’s funeral and to my uncle’s funeral. Our family went to the Unitarian church,” said Kristjanson, who’s 92. “I remember [one Christmas] they had a tree in the front. I got one orange, a couple of pieces of candy and some peanuts and you went home after that. That is still vivid in my head as me looking out the window right now. I have not forgotten that. Kenny my [younger] brother, the two of us together, went there.”
The church is the home base for the A-Spire Players theatre group. Visiting theatrical groups also rent the space for their performances. The Gimli International Film Festival rents the church during the popular summertime festival. Other community users include a piano teacher and the Blue Note Benders band that hosts Sunday jams at the church.
Gimli resident Bill Buckels, who created a non-profit organization called the Gimli Community Music Support Corporation and plays guitar with the Blue Note Benders, said they had to cancel a performance — it would have been their third one — when the furnace stopped working.
Buckels said they’re worried about the future sustainability of the church as he and many others consider the building a valuable asset to the community. The municipality doesn’t “commit” to the arts or provide space for musicians in the area. And local authors, poets have also expressed interest in using the church for a reading night.
When the furnace blew, he said his corporation — which provides proceeds of band performances to the A-Spire Players — was prepared to offer the church board $1,000 towards the replacement of the furnace, but the board moved “immediately” so the corporation decided to “earmark the money for additional improvements to help with future accessibility.”
Buckels said he’s convinced the board has done its best as far as addressing issues with the building. Nevertheless, he thinks a long-term outlook should be adopted in order to preserve the heritage structure.
“The church should be upgraded to modern standards for accessibility [e.g., there are stairs to the lower level], for energy efficiency and for sewer backup and so forth to ensure the sustainability of the building. The [church] board should have a five-year plan for upgrades and maintenance,” said Buckels. “This place is in reactionary mode. I don’t think they’re looking at long-term upgrades. There are community grants that can help with upgrades.”
Since it’s used heavily as a performance venue, Buckels said his group and other performing organizations would like to see a “tailored sound system” installed since the present PA system is inadequate and the older demographic in Gimli has to struggle to hear clearly at times. The lighting system is also unreliable and needs to be overhauled.
“The church’s future potential to serve our community makes it worth sustaining,” said Buckels, with reference to community churches that have fallen by the wayside because of lack of funding.
The Unitarian church board’s treasurer Chris Brooks said the board decided to replace the furnace, which was 28 years old, rather than have it repaired, and they put out a couple of quotes for the work right away. The piping that goes into the chimney is also outdated. The work is starting this week [week of Dec. 15].
Brooks said she looked into finding a grant to help cover the cost but couldn’t find one that would pay after the work was completed. The board had to move quickly since it’s winter and the building needs heat.
“We’ve gone through Westshore [Community] Foundation a number of times in the past for work we’ve done on the church and they’ve been absolutely wonderful,” said Brooks. “They helped us put the new front steps and the wheelchair ramp in, and helped pay for the flooring in the basement when the tiles starting lifting.”
Brooks said the Unitarian Church owns the building and the board is a non-profit organization. As such, they rely heavily on rent they get from various user groups to carry out upgrades.
“Without the rent we get from the A-Spire Theatre and from the Gimli International Film Festival in the summer, we wouldn’t be able to survive because our congregation is dwindling like other church congregations around the country. So, we’re very dependent on those rents to keep going,” she said. “It’s a great working relationship between the A-Spire group and ourselves to keep this building going because they basically have their own facility to perform their plays. Not many theatre groups have that.”
Brooks said the board would welcome any donations from the community if they wish to support the building. Because the board is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, donors are eligible for a tax receipt.
Donors wishing to support the Unitarian church building can send a cheque to the following address: Box 74 Gimli, Manitoba ROC 1BO.
