Rev. Don Beyers in front of the remains of the St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto on Dec. 3. The cost of rebuilding has yet to be determined, though a handful of foundations and private donors have approached Father Beyers about contributing.Jennifer Roberts/The Globe and Mail
Rev. Don Beyers knows the holidays will be particularly difficult for some members of his congregation.
This will be the first Christmas since the fire that ravaged Toronto’s St. Anne’s Anglican Church in June, destroying the 116-year-old building’s Byzantine-style dome and religious murals by Group of Seven artists. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Ever since, Father Beyers has been holding services in the parish hall next door, which was untouched by the blaze in the city’s west-end Little Portugal neighbourhood. Father Beyers is determined to make it a joyful holiday in spite of the gaping hole left by the church’s absence.
“We’re pulling out all the stops,” he says. “We’re going to really decorate the hall. We’re going to have the amazing choir.”
Loss of historic St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto ‘catastrophe for Canadian architecture’
As devastating as the loss has been, St. Anne’s destruction is also an opportunity to reimagine the future of the church and the role it plays in the community, Father Beyers says. Plans for the rebuild likely won’t be ready until the spring, he says, but it might include replacing the parking lot with green space and adding areas for community programming, such as language classes and other resources.
“Our goal and desire is to imagine how this place can be for the greater good, not only for the people that come here to worship, both parishioners and visitors, but also the community members,” Father Beyers says.
St. Anne’s is working with Roberto Chiotti, an architect who specializes in church design and historical restoration.
The cost of rebuilding has yet to be determined, though a handful of foundations and private donors have approached Father Beyers about contributing.
“I’ve heard from some of my own members who say, ‘Why don’t we just start building something tomorrow?’” Father Beyers says. “It’s not quite that easy. It takes a lot of discernment to figure out exactly what we do build.”
Mervin Fick, St. Anne’s music director, leads the choir in rehearsals at their temporary rehearsal space behind the church on Dec. 5.Jennifer Roberts/The Globe and Mail
In the meantime, there is the work of finding hope in the ashes – sometimes quite literally. Despite the scale of the four-alarm fire, some art pieces may be salvaged. Three parchments that feature Group of Seven work are currently in the hands of an art restorer.
“She thinks she can clean them up enough that we might be able to later frame them,” Father Beyers says.
The central panel from a series of mosaics dating back to the 1960s and some pieces of stained glass are also being restored.
Shari Ellis, who sings in the St. Anne’s choir, says she is still deeply affected by the fire. “The loss of the building, the beauty of that building – it was a beautiful and holy space – I feel it every time I pull into the parking lot and look at the ruins,” she says.
Opinion: It was only an old building, but the pain of losing a historic Toronto church runs deep
That is why going all-out for Christmas this year in the parish hall is so important, although with extra caution, she says.
“I’m going to sing the later Christmas Eve service. It’s always beautiful. It won’t be by candlelight because we’re all afraid of what can happen in a building built in 1911,” she says.
Mervin Fick, St. Anne’s music director, says that whether it is during the family carol-singing event on Christmas Eve or the choral eucharist on Christmas morning, there will “obviously be some reflection.”
Yes, there may be sadness. But, Mr. Fick says, “Mostly what’s happening is a wonderful feeling – it’s good to be together.”
If ever there were a season for looking forward to a new chapter after coming out of a dark period, it is Christmas, Father Beyers says.
In reflecting on the fire and the possibilities a new building may bring, Father Beyers says he has been pondering questions that apply not just to this Christmas but, well, the spirit of the place.
“How do we come together in solidarity with each other? How do we come together to uphold each other, to lift each other up, and maybe, maybe perhaps, offer some sense of hope.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Mervin Fick's surname.