La Pêche

By Trevor Greenway

It was difficult for Rev. Eric Hébert-Daly to get through his final service at Grace United Church in Rupert without shedding a few tears. 

“Rupert holds a very special place in my heart,” Hébert-Daly said to a congregation of close to 60 people who had gathered April 13 for the final deconsecration service of the church – a service intended to dedicate the building to other purposes. “It’s a space that has offered me opportunities to grow, to witness what community ministry looks like. It’s been a refuge from the craziness of the world. It’s a place where I presided over my first wedding. It was the church that I was able to ride my bike to in the summer – and I was still welcome, even though there were no showers,” he said to peals of laughter. 

To say that the final service at Grace United in Rupert was emotional would be an understatement. Among the rows of pews were worshippers in tears as they prayed and crooned the final hymns chosen by worship leader Marie Silvenie Chéry. 

Longtime worshipper Winnifred Wood told the Low Down following the service that, while it’s just the building that is changing hands, and the faith remains intact, it’s still difficult to say goodbye to decades of memories. 

“Oh, it’s sad, it’s emotional,” she said, wiping away tears. 

“I wish my husband was here to share this, but he’s been gone five years now.” 

Wood has been attending the Rupert Church for as long as she can remember. She said she will still be gathering at the St. Mary Magdalene Church in Chelsea, where Grace United services are moving, but she worries about older folks who can’t make the trip every Sunday. 

“Well, there are some of us that go down, but it’s going to be tough for a lot of these folks,” she said. “They won’t really have a place to gather anymore.”

As the final service came to a close, Hébert-Daly told the crowd that while the building is being deconsecrated, the spirituality inside the walls, contained within the stunning stained glass windows and flowing throughout the rows of pews, will remain. 

“The moments we’ve shared here have created a sacred space that has been woven into the fabric of the wood beams, of the bricks that were carefully brought from Ottawa, of the painted pews and of the windows the spirit winds that have blown through this place since 1882 for 143 years have infused this space with holiness,” he said. 

“When we deconsecrate a building, as we are doing today, it does not suddenly stop being holy ground. We are not desacralizing the space. The work of the spirit isn’t undone because we dedicate this building to other purposes. History isn’t rewritten. And beyond saying farewell to this building, we’re making a decision to be attentive to the work of the Spirit in other places.”

Emotional goodbye for longtime worshippers

It was hard to find a dry eye among those gathered in the pews – the congregation’s tears fuelled by the recounting of memories – nearly 150 years worth – during the final service.

Wood spoke about the history of the building during the service, noting that Grace United Church was built in 1882 after the nearby Presbyterian Church had become overcrowded. It was constructed on land donated by James Nesbitt. 

She told the crowd that contractor Samuel Hutton’s fee to build the church was $2,500 – a fair amount in those days. Hutton had bricks made in Ottawa and hauled them up “by horse and wagon over unpaved roads” to what was known as “Leslie’s Corner,” where the building stands now. 

Rev. George Baynes was the first minister of this new Presbyterian Church. Years later, On June 10, 1925, under the guidance of Rev. Arthur Shorten, the United Church of Canada came into being – nearly 100 years ago when The Methodist Church of Canada, the Congregational Union of Canada, and 70 per cent of the Presbyterian Church in Canada entered into a union together to become the United Church.

Grace United also hit some major milestones during this time, including a 75th, 100th and 125th anniversary, the latter with Minister Rev. Gisele Gilfillan, who presided over a special service that turned into a day-long celebration. 

“A huge banner declaring 125 years was strung outside between two windows,” said Wood. “Lunch was at the community centre with indoor plumbing.” The church maintained stable numbers for decades before the United Church’s numbers began to decline in Canada. It started happening during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, according to Hébert-Daly, when “80 per cent of people stopped going to church.”

In 2016, five congregations in the region – St. Andrew’s Cantley, Chelsea United Church, St. Andrew’s Gatineau, Rupert United Church and St. Andrew’s in Wakefield – merged to form one church called Grace United. 

Many of the original church buildings – such as the Rupert building – have since been sold, as it has become increasingly difficult for smaller churches to keep up with building maintenance and renovations. 

United Churches in Canada are the fastest-shrinking denomination. The latest cen­sus paints a grim picture of the church’s future, as it lost a staggering 40 per cent of its affiliates between 2011 and 2021, falling to 1.2 million people from roughly two million.

Hébert-Daly said there is a “lost generation” in Quebec who are looking for something to believe in. 

“Now, we have a younger generation that is actually spiritually hungry, looking for ways to sort of be connected with something bigger than themselves and with a community,” he said. 

“But the ways we do church on a Sunday morning don’t appeal to them.” He added that the church is now looking at various ways of connecting with this “lost generation.”