Sydney church flooding 'hurts,' but attention is on helping others first
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic Church can certainly use a miracle.
The Sydney church was hit hard by the torrential rainstorm last week that caused millions of dollars in damage in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Parish priest Father Bill Burke walks through the church where the pungent odour of sewage-filled floodwater hangs heavy in the air. He stops to examine a large Bible used during mass. It's salvageable, but only if removed soon from the damp building, he says.
Patches of water remain on the tile floor underneath the pews, and carpets in the entrance and offices are still sopping wet.
"We do know that the floor has to be replaced, the wall has to be cut out, the gyprock and the insulation has to be replaced, it's soaking," Burke says.
"We've lost our computers, our copier, all the hymn books are destroyed, so we know that we're running into a large, large, large bill."
The church organ was also destroyed when water rose to a metre inside the building.
'I knew we were in deep trouble'
Burke was called to the church Oct. 10 as the storm was raging.
"I was able to get in the church from the back and the church itself was dry at that point. But then I noticed water and it was coming in from the washrooms. It was flooding over the toilets," he says.
"So then I left and I came back about an hour later and at that point the floodwaters were up to the church, above the wall."
The priest wasn't able to get inside again until late the next day.
"As soon as I walk in, the mess on the floor, the smell, I knew that we were in deep trouble."
'This hurts'
Built in 1996, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys was originally called St. Joseph's Parish. Two years ago, that parish amalgamated with two other Sydney churches, St. Anthony Daniel and Sacred Heart.
Much discussion and heated debate ensued as to which church would stay open. St. Joseph's was chosen and the combined new parish was renamed St. Marguerite Bourgeoys.
Being displaced from the building is a setback for the congregation, Burke says.
"Whatever healing had taken place is impacted again by this loss because it was actually starting to become a growing parish," he said.
"We were getting larger numbers and people were starting to feel at home here. So this, this hurts."
Insurance should cover costs
Owen Fitzgerald, a long-time member of the parish, says he was floored when he saw the state of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys on the day of the storm.
"I just couldn't believe it, the church was just sitting in this lake, just in the middle of a lake."
Fitzgerald co-chaired the building fund committee back in the 1990s.
"When we were building this church and planning it, we had engineers, we had the municipality coming and advising us," he says.
"We made sure we built it far away from the creek and up high. This was just something no one could have foreseen, I guess. One in every 200-year event."
It was fortunate there was no oil leakage, Burke says. The church will be restored, in time, and insurance should cover the costs, he says.
A strong parish
But right now, people are the priority.
The parish's focus is on those who have lost their homes and are in severe, immediate need.
"This can wait," Burke says, gesturing to the building.
"We certainly feel the damage done here, but we have parishioners who are faithful members of this community, who work hard, who come here and help us with the worship and several of them are not in their homes.
"And I want to see them safely back before we gather here."
Fitzgerald agrees: "We'll recover, we're a very strong parish. We have to help each other first and then we'll fix up our church."
Other churches helping
In the meantime, Burke says other parishes in the Sydney area are opening their doors to them.
"In the week since the flood, we've had three funerals and the parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Sydney River has generously offered their church," he says.
For the weekend liturgies, members are going to nearby St. Theresa's Church. Scheduling mass for major feasts like Christmas is still to be worked out.
It's too early to predict when the congregation might be back in its own church on Cabot Street.
"I'm hoping for Easter, but that's just a dream of my own. Nobody has said that to me, but I'm certainly hoping for Easter," Burke says.
