As posted on the Beacon Herald website, February 6, 2011.
By MIKE BEITZ STAFF REPORTER
If it's true that there's no education like adversity, then the congregation at Knox Presbyterian Church is learning fast.
It has certainly been tested in the last year or so -- with financial challenges, a failed amalgamation with St. Andrew's and the departure of its minister.
But the church is moving forward with a renewed sense of focus, said Sue Orr, a Knox board member.
"Any church, if it goes through a hardship, comes out stronger," she said. "We are stronger now. We know who we are and what we want to be."
In an interview at the historic downtown building Friday, with light streaming through its majestic stained glass windows, Orr was reluctant to dwell on amalgamation, a sensitive issue for many in both congregations, even more than a year later.
But she didn't sugar-coat it either.
"Amalgamation is still a bitter word for a lot of people," she said of the scuttled plan to bring the two local Presbyterian churches together as a cost-saving measure. A "handful" of members left Knox in the wake of the decision not to join with St. Andrew's.
But for Knox, the decision to keep the iconic church at the corner of Ontario and Waterloo streets as its place of worship was the right one, said Orr.
"The congregation is very passionate about this building," she said during a tour of the landmark structure, which dates back nearly 100 years. "We like to be the downtown church. We like to be a church that is connected to the community in a very strong way."
And virtually every single room inside it speaks to that connection, said Orr.
The sanctuary is the place not only for the regular Sunday worship service, now led by guest minister Rev. Dr. Brian Lapier, but also a number of community concerts.
There's the Alley Thrift Store that supports church missions both locally and internationally.
A banquet hall and adjacent kitchen host regular community meals, concerts, wedding receptions and other functions, and there's space for local support and youth groups such as Choices for Change-Crossing Bridges, Youth for Christ and Girl Guides.
There's even a parlour where local cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment can get fitted for a wig or head covering.
"The building is a tool to be there for the community," said Orr, who is leaving next week to travel to India for another mission the church supports -Sleeping Children Around the World.
But the building has costs associated with it.
When the amalgamation plan was cancelled, the Huron-Perth Presbytery, the governing body for Knox and St. Andrew's, encouraged each to balance their budgets and work at reducing their debt.
Knox is "well on its way" to meeting or exceeding those financial goals, said Orr.
"We're definitely on track," she said, pointing out that, above and beyond its financial commitments, an additional $30,000 was raised by some members of the congregation last year to help pay for new wheelchair-accessible washrooms and a new nursery in the church.
It's just part of an overall investment in something worth preserving, said Orr.
"Yes, it's a big building, and a bit of a burden, but it's also a tool that makes things happen," she said.
Watch for the second part of this series, focusing on St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.
