A Barrhead community group hopes to restore a historic church ravaged by fire to its former glory.
But, to do so, they will need the community's help.
That is what Brenda Baron of the St. Aidan's Community Church of Glenreagh and Bloomsbury Society said last week.
On Dec. 7, a suspected arsonist set St. Aidan's Church along with St. Mary Abbots Anglican, better known as the Pioneer Memorial Church, near the Hamlet of Thunder Lake ablaze.
St. Aidan's, near the County of Barrhead community of Glenreagh, suffered extensive damage to the walls and the roof and considerable smoke damage to the interior.
Barrhead Regional Fire Services chief Gary Hove noted the fire at St. Aidan's was started on its front porch, while at the fire at St.Mary Abots Anglican, which was started about an hour later, the arsonist broke into the church and started the fire from inside the building. In both cases, he noted an accelerant was used.
The Pioneer Memorial Church did not make out as well as it was completely destroyed.
"We've done a cleanup of the outside and inside of the church during [a July 13] work party," she said.
In the coming weeks, before the snow flies, the society hopes to repair much of the outdoor damage, specifically to the outer west wall and roof.
"We did have some money in reserve, which we were using to maintain the cemetery [next to the church], but we think we have enough money to fix the basics," Baron said. "To do anything else, we will need further donations."
She added that they chose to start the restoration project with the outside items for safety reasons and to protect the rest of the structure.
"Much of the damage inside is from smoke [and water]," Baron said. "[The inside of the building] is full of fir timbers, beautifully done. In a perfect situation, we would replace them, but we can't do that now. Until we can deal with those and the other inside items our first focus is to stabalize the outside."
She added that the society can issue tax receipts and that the Alberta, Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) has approved their application to be added to the province's casino/gaming funding list.
However, she said, other than that, the society had done relatively little fundraising, adding most of their efforts after the fire to cover the damage to prevent further deterioration.
The society is taking donations directly. People wanting to donate to the fundraising effort should send cheques and money orders to the St. Aidan's Church restoration project, care of Edith Strawson at Site 10, Box 1, RR2, Barrhead, T7N IN3. Cheques, money orders, et cetera, should be made out to the St. Aidan's Community Church of Glenreagh and Bloomsbury Society.
"People's donations mean so much. It means an awful lot to keep the church going. My family and so many others in our community have a history in that church ... It just means a lot to us," Strawson said.
For more information about the project or to ask for additional ways to help, contact Glen and Brenda Baron at 780-699-5788.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
