Rev. Don Beyers meets with Bishop Andrew Asbil outside the gutted remnants of St. Anne’s Anglican Church on June 10. The historic church, built in 1907, was mostly destroyed in a weekend fire along with many artworks inside, including murals by members of the Group of Seven.Abhijit Alka Anil/The Globe and Mail
The congregation at a historic church in Toronto has set a $1-million fundraising goal following a weekend fire that left the building in ashes and destroyed more than 16 Group of Seven paintings.
A member of the choir of St. Anne’s Anglican Church set up a page on the website GoFundMe to raise money toward rebuilding infrastructure, arranging interim services and replacing musical instruments lost in the fire.
Most of the church was engulfed in flames early Sunday, its interior gutted and priceless mosaics, paintings and frescoes eviscerated. As of Tuesday, Toronto Police said the fire is not being investigated as suspicious as the cause remains unknown.
Rev. Don Beyers said in an interview that some donations would go toward salvaging parts of the church that withstood the fire, for use in the near future.
“The point is to ultimately provide space for the community to worship within our church hall and there are some things we’ll need to modify to do that,” he said.
Mr. Beyers said he wants to ensure that St. Anne’s is rebuilt in a way that serves the community and the city. The church also held events such as concerts and a regular farmers’ market.
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In addition to the Group of Seven murals, the church also featured paintings and sculptures from other artists. Mr. Beyers said the congregation will work with Canadian artists in whatever they do.
He said the $1-million figure is just a starting point. “It’s to get the ball rolling. There are a lot of pieces we need to work on.”
So far, there’s been an outpouring of support from the community, Mr. Beyers said, with calls and donations from across Canada and as far away as Texas.
One call that stood out to him was from the congregation at the historic St. George’s Round Church in Halifax, which lost 30 per cent of its structure to a fire in 1994. The congregation was able to rebuild over the span of six years, thanks to donors who reportedly included King Charles.
The total cost of rebuilding St. Anne’s will depend on many factors, including how faithful of a restoration the church aspires to complete. But Philip Evans of ERA Architects said the cost for similar projects has been tens of millions.
“To replace a roof on a church like that, there’s half a million dollars right there,” said Mr. Evans. “It’s priceless what St. Anne’s had.”
Soliciting any sort of funding for the church might also be tougher than it was in the past, as church attendance and religiosity continue to decline across the country. The role of the church has changed significantly since St. Anne’s was founded, says John Shnier, an architect and professor at University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture.
He said those involved in restoration work will need to ask questions such as: “What is the church’s role today? What is the role of decolonization? What is the artist’s role?”
Toronto is also facing a housing crisis and converting churches into rentals has become popular and efficient in the last few years, with projects like Kindred Works planning to house 34,000 people through renewed church facilities.
Kendra Fry, who leads a non-profit consultancy transforming underutilized churches, says that plans to rebuild St. Anne’s might be a “knee-jerk reaction.” Eventually, the church will need to reflect on how to honour its history while taking into account its modern mission, she said.
“There should be some kind of restatement of the history lost in that site,” said Ms. Fry. “But you can’t get it back – so they need to ask what is the mission now? What are we being called to do now? What are the spaces I need to accommodate the modern mission?”
Many of those in the St. Anne’s community, however, want the church brought back to life in its original form and function.
“I would like to see that church again. I would like to see that church rebuilt in a way that’s representative of what it was,” said Andrea Kuzmich, a local musician who’s performed at several concerts in the church. “It’s an important cultural spot for many performers. It’s an important community spot.”