12 June 2, 2012 - ObserverXtra

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012
Built in 1870, Chalmers Presbyterian Church in Winterbourne has been vacant since its last
serice in December. Residents hope to preserve the building. [OBSERVER FILE PHOTO]
CHURCH: Move is first step in
possible historical designation
for 142-year-old church
FROM | 3
that define a community.
It may be an inn, a mill, a
post office or, sometimes, a
bank. But more often than
not it is an old church, and
Chalmers Presbyterian is
an example of this,” said
John Arndt, past-president
of the North Waterloo
regional branch of the Architectural
Conservancy
of Ontario, in addressing
Woolwich council May 29.
“It represents community
values, and the history
and heritage of place.
Physically, it is an excellent
example of late-19th century
rural church architecture:
the windows, the
steeple, the inviting front
door. Chalmers church is a
local landmark appreciated
by former parishioners,
residents, history buffs and
people passing through
Winterbourne.”
For Kim Hodgson, whose
home abuts the church
property, preserving the
building amounts to keeping
Winterbourne’s de
facto community centre.
“The church is important
for so many reasons,” she
said, pointing to its charming
architecture and long
history. “We owe it to our
township to preserve this
little building.”
Although it may no longer
serve as a church, converting
it to residential or
commercial use, while preserving
its look and character,
would be an ideal solution,
she suggested.
The Presbyterian Church
of Canada, which now
General Contracting
Residential
Commercial
owns the building, is interested
in selling it, and has
been lukewarm to the idea
of a heritage designation,
which would limit its options
for the property.
Woolwich has pushed
ahead, however, because of
the building’s significance.
“The church does have
a number of key elements
which make it a potential
candidate for designation,”
director of engineering and
planning Dan Kennaley
noted in his report to council.
“The church is an older
structure built in the 1800s,
is connected to the history
of the community, has
been maintained and used
as a Presbyterian church
since its construction, and
character has not been significantly
altered.”
Arndt noted there are
some issues with the building
that will require repair,
but they’re all rather easily
addressed.
In that vein, Coun.
Mark Bauman pointed to
a couple of recent cases in
Elmira – the Steddick Hotel
and a Victorian home at 10
Park. Ave. – where heritage
buildings were allowed to
deteriorate so badly that
demolition was the only option,
warning that historical
designations can be onerous
to property owners.
Forced to maintain characteristics
of the buildings,
often requiring expensive
techniques for repairs and
renovations, owners should
have access to funds to
help offset the costs, he
argued, though voting in
favour of the listing.
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NEWS | 7
Aid to orphans drives girls'
mission trip to Romania
Three young woman are determined to make a difference, taking part
in mission trip to impoverished Eastern European country
Over the summer
months, three Elmira
girls – Gwyneth Findlay,
Tricia Bauman and Natalie
Hanley-Sadowski – are
planning to visit orphanages
in Romania as a way
to open their hearts and
support the children in the
state-run institutions.
Romania is going through
an orphan crisis, with close
to 80,000 children abandoned,
abused or displaced
across the country.
The girls are travelling
with International Teams
Canada and will be running
a day camp for children.
“The purpose of the ministry
going to Romania is to
teach the orphans family
skills and life skills because
the Romania orphanages
are institutions and not
homes – they do not pick
up those kinds of skills,”
said Findlay. “The idea
is that the orphans will
be able to raise a healthy
family once they leave the
orphanage.”
The trio will be heading
to a camp near Cluj in the
mountains of Romania
with seven other volunteers
for two weeks from
July 22 to Aug. 6.
Last summer Findlay
and her family went to
Romania to work with children
in the north-west part
of the country. Working in
a camp for two weeks they
would perform morning
exercises, read bible stories,
play games and activities
with the children from
two nearby orphanages.
FROM | 5
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An entire second storey
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Tricia Bauman (left), Gwyneth Findlay and Natalie Hanley-Sadowski held a yard sale at
Findlay’s house last Saturday to raise funds for their upcoming goodwill trip to Romania.
[JAMES JACKSON / THE OBSERVER]
“Ever since that trip I
always wanted to go back
but I didn’t think it would
be an option until I was 18
years old,” said Findlay, a
16 year old EDSS student.
Findlay was sitting down
with her team leader earlier
this year when she asked
In total, MennoHomes
will need about $250,000,
and to help offset some
of those costs they are
holding a bike-a-thon on
June 23 at the Elmira Mennonite
Church, 58 Church
St. W. Starting at 9 a.m. or
Since
1926
him if it would be possible
if she would be allowed to
go back to the country to
volunteer even though she
was underage.
“He said that as long as
I had my parent’s approval
and there were chaperones
it was totally possible,” said
MENNOHOMES: Campaign supports affordable housing
after lunch, teams of participants
will be invited to
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Findlay.
Bauman, Findlay’s friend
from school was on board
shortly after.
“When (Findlay) came
back from her first visit she
couldn’t stop talking about
her trip and it seemed like
her life had changed. She
was so excited about it and
I always had wanted to do a
short term mission trip and
it just seemed to work out
that we would be able to go
together this summer,” said
Bauman.
Hanley-Sadowski joined
the trio with help from
Findlay’s parents who work
for International Team
Canada as they set up interviews
for the 18 year old
St. David’s student.
“I always really wanted
to get involved with something
like this. I always
thought it would be great to
go on a mission trip,” said
Hanley-Sadowski. “This is
something that has been
on my heart for a long time
and I wanted to reinforce
my faith at the same time.”
The trip will cost approximately
$3,500 and the girls
have held a a garage and
bake sale where they raised
$750. They are also doing
some local support raising
sending sponsor letters
to organizations, friends,
teachers and family.
As a team they are holding
a Zumba class in Mississauga
on June 9 to help
raise money for the trip.
Anyone interested in
supporting the girls can
visit www.iteams.ca and
search for the girl’s names
to sponsor their trip.
noHomes campaign for
affordable housing. For
more information or for a
pledge form, contact Martin
Buhr (519) 578-5546 or
pama@sympatico.ca. Visit
www.mennohomes.com for
more details.
(Located behind
W.C. Brown & Sons)