New roof ensures church continues serving the community

Nirmal Mendis and Kim Eros

In 2018, it was noted that the church roof (All Saints Welland) was in poor repair. 

Repairs were required to prevent damage to the interior of the church. 

The beautiful woodwork in the sanctuary needed to be protected. 

There was only plywood standing between the woodwork and shingles. 

We are a small church in Welland Ontario in an area called Dain City. The church has a dedicated group of parishioners who have worshipped at this church for many years. Everyone has been working together to keep the church viable. 

In 2018, quotes were obtained to replace the roof and we submitted an application to the Anglican Foundation of Canada (AFC). We received approval from AFC and felt a great sense of relief to have this financial support.

We contacted the lowest bidder and they tarped the roof for us to get us through the winter. It was a bit of an eye sore over the winter, with a tarpaulin over the roof. We were told that the roofing company would start as soon as good weather was here. 

The roofers started their work on April 18, 2019. Unfortunately, that was the date of our Maundy Thursday service. As a result, we held the service in the basement. 

As disappointing as it was that we had a noisy service on Thursday our congregation pulled together to clean the church in preparation for Good Friday. We all pulled together as we always do and made sure the church was spotless for these sacred services. The roofers took Good Friday off.

In summary, this project has helped us to keep our parish maintained. 

We will continue our ministry to our community. The small parish would have had to do some additional fundraising to raise the almost $7,000 that we received from the grant. 

We will be providing community space to our local recreation group, as they need to vacate their current space. They provide activities to seniors and youth in the Dain City area. Our parish also provides outreach to local senior facilities and supports other local parish’s projects such as food banks and hygiene banks.

All Saints Welland (Dain City) is truly appreciative of the support we have received from the Anglican Foundation. The overall process was seamless, and guidance was provided to ensure we met all required criteria. We would have struggled to put a replacement roof on as we are a small rural church. On behalf of all of us at All Saints – Thank you!

(The projected cost for the new roof was $13,887.70. The Anglican Foundation provided 50% and the remainder came from the parish.)

The Reverend Nirmal Mendis is Rector and Kim Eros is a Churchwarden of All Saints Welland (Dain City).