This old church is located on the Oneida Reserve along a busy highway. There’s a small cemetery beside the church.

The church doors are usually locked. If you can find your way inside though, you’ll find the interior to be in an advanced state of decay. The piano sinks a little further into the rotting floor each year. The ceiling is water damaged and falling down, some rays of sun poke through holes in the roof. Navigating the floor may be tricky as the wood deteriorates.

As of 2022, the roof has collapsed.

This lovely church was built in 1844. It’s one of those churches that occasionally sees the doors being left unlocked out of trust. Unfortunately we know that not everyone shares the same sense of decency when it comes to unlocked churches.

The guestbook’s last entry was 2013.

Saint-Bernardin de-Sienne Church is located at 7979 8e Avenue in Montreal, Quebec.  It was built around 1955 as part of a post-Second World War movement to expand the Catholic Church’s reach into Montreal communities.

Due to declining congregation it closed in 2013.

It was struck by arson on January 27, 2019 requiring 150 firefighters to extinguish the blaze. The number of firefighters was high so that they could rotate due to the frigid winter temperature. That fire destroyed the presbytery roof.

The church was hit again on February 14, 2019.

Despite the destruction, the diocese is hopeful that the building can one day be returned to it’s glory.

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With declining congregations, shrinking budgets and aging buildings, churches are closing all across Canada. I can remember my grandfather attending church every Sunday. It seems like a lost faith with people too busy or who don’t practice faith.

These photos are from various abandoned churches across Ontario that I’ve explored over the years. Some of them are used seasonally while others are open based on the trust that people will treat them with respect.

 

 

History of St. Giles United Church

In March of 1907 the Presbytery of Hamilton granted permission to establish the St. Giles Presbyterian Sunday School and Church. A petition gained 116 signatures in support of building a new church.

Mass was initially held in a tent until November of 1908 when the church construction was completed. The main portions of the church were built between 1912 and 1913 including the bell tower. The bells were manufactured by the McShame Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland in 1912.

The Holton family for whom Holton Avenue is named, donated the organ. The Neo-Gothic church featured wooden truss roof, beautiful stained glass windows, gothic arched windows and batlement parapets.

In 1925, the Church voted to become part of the United Church of Canada. This was not without resistance. While 557 members voted in favour of the merger, 368 people voted against the change.

Around 1945 an addition was made to the building on the east side as a memorial to the nine church members who’d died serving in World War 2.

Brownies and Girl Guide meetings were held in the church during the 1950’s as well as weekly dances. Remember, this was a time when people found the time for church.

In 1958 most of the original church was torn down and a new Christian education complex was erected.

In the 1960’s St. Giles began operating programs to better serve their community. These included a nursery school for children with learning disabilities (est. Sept. 1963), Alcoholics anonymous, sex worker drop in center and a center for physically disabled adults.

Merging to become New Vision Church

 The congregations of St Giles and Centenary United churches voted to merge and in 2015 became New Vision Church. New Vision required only one church which was decided to be Cenetery United. St. Giles became idle.

Efforts to find an interested purchaser for the property had been unsuccessful.

St. Giles required at least $1 million in repairs and cost $90,000 annually to maintain. The increased costs and declining congregation size led New Vision to seek a demolition permit on April 17, 2018.

In June of 2018 an auction was held with 528 items up for purchase including over 40 stained-glass windows. Many of these items had been classified as heritage items. BD Salvage bid on many of the lights, furniture, solid wood doors, etc. After the auction BD Salvage purchased the salvage rights to the remaining wooden elements.

A heritage report argued that the the church meets eight of nine criteria for heritage designation under the Heritage Act. As a result, the Heritage committee unanimously voted to recommend designation. The city however rejected the designation.

A community group is trying to save the church including a $400,000 anonymous donation.

August 2018 Photos

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The Hickson United Church was built in 1901 and opened in 1902. Given the small size of the town of Hickson, the church was used as a meeting place for community functions including baptisms, weddings, funerals, Bible school, Brownies, Girl Guides, Scouts, weddings and baby showers.

As with so many churches across Canada (approximately 9,000 of them due to close within the next 10 years) this one closed due to declining congregation sizes.

In 2019 there were approximately 20 families attending mass on Sundays. Final services were held on March 10th, 2019.

The church donated leftover items to other nearby churches. The pews will be sold and anything left over, put into storage. 

The property was purchased by a company based in Toronto. There is talk of turning the building into apartment housing, but as we know in this hobby, it could easily be vacant for several years to come.

There are signs of decay in the main entrance but otherwise the church is in good condition.

The church gathered up all of the contents such as books, glasses, and other small items and will allow other churches to pick up items they can re-purpose. The pews will be sold and the remaining contents put into storage.

I hesitantly approached a man who, along with his wife, were cleaning up the church. I explained that I was looking to take some photos to capture the history of the church. He invited me inside where I met his wife (Denise?). We spoke a bit about how society doesn’t have time to religion any more. 

I enjoy speaking to people who have an attachment to their church. I find them down to Earth, easy to approach and overall decent people.

In 1849 a large group of settlers fled their homeland of South Uist and Benbecula, Scotland. They had been evicted from the land by their landlords. The land produced failed potatoe crops which added to their dire situation. A group of families boarded a ship named The Tusker and made a two week journey to Canada. On August 30th, 1849 they arrived in Quebec.

Approximately 300 of them made their way to Middlesex County by stagecoach and wagon. In the Village of Nairn, Mr. McIntosh, gave them food and supplies on credits. Log shelters were quickly built before winter’s arrival. The settlers established a settlement which they named Bornish, after the town many of them lived in back in Scotland.  

They were provided 100 acres of land which would have to be paid for in twenty years. In 1853, the settlers constructed a log church and school at the corner of Highway 81 and Bornish Drive. They named their church St. Columba.

Over time the families moved away, some into the United States. The community became active once again after World War II when Duch and Belgian families immigrated to Canada. Several of them would become farmers once they had enough savings to purchase a farm.

The current church was built in 1902. It’s believed to have last been active in 2005. What makes this a true gem is the architecture and the fact there is no vandalism whatsoever.

This location is now demolished 🙁

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The Studite Monastery and Peace Lighthouse was located in Woodstock, Ontario. It belonged to the Studite Fathers, a Ukrainian religious group. Studites work for eight hours, rest for eight hours and pray for eight hours. The Studites are one of the oldest monastic orders of the church. They have a board of directors and monastery located near Rome.

The Studites owned hundreds of acres of land in Woodstock, Ontario which over the years they slowly sold off to property developers.

The Woodstock monastery was operated by a monk named Reverend Evtimy Wolinski (Herbert Wolinski). Wolinski is the last member of his order in Canada. An order dating back to AD 500.

In June of 2000, Wolinski was responsible for establishing the Woodstock Peace Lighthouse of Icons which contained more than 100 religious icons and religious paintings. Wolinski had hoped to create interest in the monastery and attract tourists. By winter construction had halted on the $2.5 million project as the monastery was unable to pay the bills.

The Woodstock Peace Lighthouse was designed by J.L. Cortes Architect Corporation. Construction was started in March of 2000 and finally completed in June of 2002. The cost was approximately $2,130,000 (1). Visitors could walk the lighthouse and view the variety of paintings hung on the walls.

Around June of 2009, a woman named Viktoriya Abelyar was hired by the Studite Fathers to help organize a Ukranian-speaking prayer group known as the “Keepers of the Light”. She volunteered to perform secretarial work and gardening at the church and in return was allowed to live on the property and was provided with food and health care.

In January of 2010 Wolinski and Abelyar began an intimate common-law relationship which resulted in the birth of a child. The church responded by forbidding Abelyar from being on the church property. The church also removed Wolinski from his duties at the monastery. While priests are allowed to marry, monks are not permitted to. Wolinski now survives through his old-age pension.

Personal Commentary

I’d been keeping a watch on this location. During my second visit in 2014 I walked around the building trying the doors. I thought it was going to be with the same disappointing results until I tried one door and it opened. Adrenaline pumping, I hurried back to the car and gathered my camera gear.The owners then boarded up the windows and doors. This led frustrated youths to begin throwing rocks through the stained glass windows. Someone then kicked in a ground level window board and the church and hallways sprayed painted with graffiti.

I was able to return on another occasion to find the rear door had been broken open and the youths had moved their gathering indoors. There was a table which appeared they’d been using to gather around and smoke. Remarkably other than using the back hall for hanging out, there was still no vandalism.

 

By 2017 word had spread that this gathering place was open and the inevitable vandalism began. Graffiti was painted on the exterior rear walls and inside the church.

For now, the residents of Woodstock can take comfort as the property has sat idle since purchase and the land was put back up for sale after it’s purchase by PICI.

On November 22, 2020, five people ranging from 17 to 21 from the Niagara Falls area were charged with trespassing at the former lighthouse.

These photos were taken in 2014.

These photos are from December 2015.

And the inevitable outcome.

As for the monestery, it was demolished in January of 2018 after being purchased by PICI investments. The company had planned to build apartments for seniors and young people. They solicitated feedback from the community, who opined that they didn’t want a large apartment building on their quiet street. Regardless, the City of Woodstock granted a permit to build new housing on the grounds of the former monastery. However the property sat idle for a few years and was put back onto the market.

The property stood in limbo from 2021 to 2022 until April of 2022 when the bulldozers arrived, fencing went up, and the last remains of this property and the Studite Monks were torn down.

 

Source:
(1) https://www.haymanconstruction.com/