By Cecilia Nasmith

Henry Knight, chair of St. Peter's Church Capital Campaign, got the informal endorsement of the restorative work at St. Peter's Anglican Church from Cobourg council that he requested this week.

“I'll tell you up front we are not here to ask for a grant from the town – do I hear a sigh of relief?” Knight said.

Still, they welcome every donation for the campaign they are calling Transforming Space, Lives and Faith.

The space in question involves the restoration of the main church's roof and bell tower.

The lives will be served through maximizing this space to will allow even more services beyond the many it already has offered – the 64-cottage St. Peter's Court development in 1967 for low-income seniors and the disabled, the 1990s partnership with Mzuzu, Malawi, that resulted in funding 2,005 AIDS orphans, the weekly Soupertime lunches in co-ordination with other churches, the Thursday suppers that provided 140 hot meals a week (and pivoted to take-out meals during the pandemic), the partnership with Northumberland County and Transition House that resulted in space at St. Peter's for a warming room over the winter for those without shelter, just to name a few.

As for faith, Knight said, “churches are facing declining attendance on a strictly religious basis, but people still have a spiritual need, as demonstrated in a recent cross-Canada survey.

“Also, people want to be involved in public service.”

Knight drew some parallels between the church and Victoria Hall, in addition to both being designed by architect Kivas Tully.

Constructed in the 1856-to-1860 period, Victoria Hall was threatened with demolition by 1971.

“I imagine that must have caused a tremor of horror going through the community as they considered removing this fantastic building off the map,” he speculated.

A committee was formed and an aggressive campaign saved the day. Victoria Hall was closed, renovated and reopened in 1983.

This is the kind of success for which they hope at St. Peter's. The structure goes back to 1850, when it replaced a small clapboard church that was built on the site in 1820. The height of the bell tower had to be shortened in 1904 for the church's 50th-anniversary project – bringing in 10 bells cast in New York whose cumulative weight made the renovations necessary for stability.

Fast forward another 116 years, and the ceiling plaster is beginning to fall, while the bell tower requires further strengthening after more than a century of the heavy New York bells.

The fundraising began with an appeal to their parish they hoped would bring in $750,000. To date, it has brought in more than $900,000 (and might possibly hit the million-dollar-mark).

“The Diocese recognizes the importance of our church in the Cobourg region, and it has authorized a donation of $500,000 – and given us a bridge-funding loan of $1-million,” Knight added.

The next stage is an appeal to the larger community that he is confident will far surpass the $100,000 goal.