New cedar shake roof going up
St. Andrews on the Red’s parishioners are continuing their fundraising journey to raise the rest of the sum needed to fully fund the replacement of the church’s roof. Though they haven’t quite made it to the finish line with their fundraising, they have reached the point at which the project has started, with new cedar shakes replacing the old.
St. Andrews on the Red is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year and is a historic site both nationally and in our province. Being a historic site means that they are required to preserve historic features of the structure like the cedar shake roof.
“The structure and design is quite unique, probably for this part of the world,” said Rev. Jim Kirkpatrick.
The design is not only unique because of the historical preservation work that has gone into maintaining the space but the original design from the stonemasonry to the roof, which is reminiscent of the York boats that would have been constructed in the area, everything is of local design using local materials.
Over the years the parishioners of St. Andrews on the Red have fundraised to preserve this historic site through many renovations. Some of the notable projects have been: in the 1960s the buffalo skins that cover the kneelers were replaced using former RCMP winter coats which at that time were being phased out from being made with buffalo hide into more modern materials, in the 1980s the crawlspace was redone lifting the whole building to preserve the floors, at the same time the roof was redone in cedar shakes, and the most recent project has been the preservation of the church’s tower.
The church’s current restoration project has been going well and there has been great support in our community. From a successful letter-writing campaign, to a high-tea event hosted at Selkirk’s Gwen Fox Gallery in the spring, to people stopping by with donations, as well as an online gofundme campaign. The church has seen both parishioners and history lovers coming out to support the project.
Kirkpatrick believes it’s important to preserve historical structures not just so future generations can see what they look like but because they connect us to those who have come before us.
“If you lose your history, you’ve lost contact with your ancestry and with the land. Now it’s becoming more and more important to people to find out about those things and get in touch, and just to know that there’s something here that’s been here for a long time,” he said.
Not only have locals been contributing to this effort but the church is thankful to Parks Canada as well as the Sir Thomas Cropo Foundation and the Anglican Foundation of Canada all of which have given generous grants to help preserve this historic site.
If residents would like to contribute to the preservation of this historic structure they can donate to the GoFundMe campaign by visiting gofund.me/8f5f6936 where you can also learn a bit more about the church’s history. 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 for any questions.
If you would like to see this historic structure in person, worship services take place on Sundays at 11:15 a.m. They also have several events taking place this fall. On Sept. 29 just before Indigenous Day they are having a worship service that focuses on the subject and in particular Henry Budd who was the first Indigenous person to be ordained as an Anglican priest, on Oct. 20, they will be having a historical service from 1849 which will be the official 175th anniversary liturgical celebration, and finally, on Dec. 7 they will have an old fashioned Christmas with entertainment, crafts, and baking from 1 to 4 p.m.
The parishioners at St. Andrews on the Red are very thankful for the generosity of everyone who has supported this restoration project.
“We’re very grateful for their support,” said Kirkpatrick.
