Diocese continues to help parishes with leaks

“Leaky envelope” problems continue to bedevil parishes throughout the diocese, forcing them to carry out new building fund campaigns, and requiring the diocese to find money for construction loans and special grants.

Hit most recently is St. George, Maple Ridge, which has found out it must spend $530,000 to fix the east wall of the church plus almost all the pillars that support the church building’s extensive overhang.

Diocesan Council last month agreed to grant from diocesan funds $1 for every $3 pledged during a five year capital campaign to a maximum of $80,000, and to loan St. George’s the money it needs to start construction.

So far the congregation hasn’t experienced any problems with leaking to date, aid the Rev. Roger Cooper, rector, but tests over the past two years have found significant damage in the wall, and unless remedial work begins now the problem will get much worse.

“It’s much better to do the work now than later,” he said.

Cooper said that the parish will use about $155,000 in a rectory fund to pay off the church’s current mortgage. It was built in 1990.

A new capital campaign will begin this fall, Copper said. It will be chaired by parishioner Tom Manion, a financial planner.

Cooper was optimistic about the feasibility of the new capital campaign. He said the church was “lucky” in that it will be able to continue to use the church building during construction.

“There seems to be more excitement here for our ministry than there has been,” he said. The parish has recently gone through the diocesan “Get fit/Keep fit” program.

At Diocesan Council, Treasurer Jim Stewart said that the leaky envelope problem – the same as the well known “leaky condo” problem caused by construction methods in the late 1980s and early 1990s – have required $1.5 million in grants and loans to parishes from the diocese.

In another matter, Diocesan Council approved the application of Christ Church Cathedral for a grant of $15,000 to the national Anglican Foundation for money to help pay to improve accessibility for the disabled.