A Holy Place: Preserving Historic Churches
A few weeks ago, my church took a field trip—one that went over the road and almost 200 years into the past. A small group of us met in one of our village’s oldest buildings, a tiny stone chapel constructed in 1853 to serve the tiny population of English settlers who’d brought their faith with them to the New World.
Long since abandoned by its growing congregation, Christ Church now serves as a museum and event space except for the four Sundays in the summer when it sheds its modern guise and reverts to form, becoming a place of worship once again with an early Holy Communion service led by the local Anglican priest.
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Walking through the doors on a cloudless but cold June morning, it seemed as if past parishioners were peering over my shoulder, their dusty fingers impatiently rifling through the Book of Common Prayer, or perched beside me on the hard wooden pew, looking out at the ramshackle graveyard gently sloping towards the river.
We raised our voices as the pump organ began sounding out the first notes of O For a Thousand Tongues. Our minister, visibly moved as she delivered the homily, called the chapel a “holy place.” She confessed that she felt more nervous preparing for this service than she had on her first day on the job.
Sacred Sites
As Anglicans, we’ve become accustomed to our sacred sites—you don’t join a 600-year-old church and expect to worship in a shopping mall conversion. However, we take these spaces for granted. All over North America, we’re losing our churches. Researchers predict that the United States is on course to lose up to 100,000 churches by 2025. There are no figures on how many are historic, but it stands to reason that these are the most difficult and costly to preserve. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, but the ravages of time won’t spare its buildings.
There are a few contenders for the title of the oldest Anglican church. First up, we have St. Martin’s in Canterbury, built in AD 597 and still in use today. St. Martin’s has welcomed many iconic Christian leaders over the years; St. Augustine established the parish itself upon his arrival from Rome. Later, Bede noted the success of St Augustine’s mission at St Martin, writing in AD731: ‘Great numbers gathered each day to hear the word of God, forsaking their heathen rites and entering the unity of Christ’s holy church as believers’.
Next up is St. Peter’s Church in Bermuda, recognized as the oldest Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles (as titles go, it’s a bit of a mouthful). Established in 1612, this white stone island church began as a small wooden structure. It was later being rebuilt and enlarged. And here’s some interesting trivia: Jane Austen’s brother, Charles, was married here in 1807.
Finally, we come to the oldest Anglican church in North America, St. Paul’s in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Built in 1750, the church has undergone many modifications over the years. It received a narthex in 1812, followed by east and west wings in 1868. As a result of all this architectural tinkering, St. Paul’s is one of only a few Anglican churches to have five aisles.
Outside of this list, some of America’s oldest churches come from the Anglican tradition. Pre-Revolutionary War churches and cathedrals dot the midwest and southern states. Many of these have received National Historic Landmarks (NHL) or National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designations. These designations confer some benefits in terms of eligibility for federal grants and access to preservation resources. Still, the property owner has no obligation to maintain the site and can sell without restriction. Then there’s the cost and administration involved in applying for an NHL or joining the NRHP. Many cash-strapped historic churches lack the resources to compete for even these limited protections. Sadly, unlike the Churches Conservation Trust and Friends of Friendless Churches in the United Kingdom, there are no major organizations dedicated to preserving historic church buildings in North America.
A Community Church
Our own piece of history, Christ Church, survives by donations, fundraisers, and private ceremonies such as weddings and baptisms. But its future is far from secure. The Diocese owns the property and has more pressing financial priorities than a tiny chapel in a rural village.
How can we save historic churches? I don’t have a neat answer, but I am hopeful. I’ve seen firsthand how a community like mine has come together, again and again, to keep Christ Church from falling into obscurity and disrepair—and not just the Anglicans or the Christians among us. The town has embraced Christ Church as an important piece of its story, one that resonates with history-lovers as much as church-goers.
When the chapel opens its doors to services, concerts, or presentations, they are typically well-attended by a wide demographic of residents. The most significant event in Christ Church’s calendar by far is the annual Tree Lighting and Christmas Carol Sing. Last December, the line stretched around the block, a patient queue of people bundled up against the bitter cold. One by one, they filed through the heavy doors, disappearing into the amber glow of the tiny chapel. Moments later, the sound of joyful voices pierced the dark street. They launched into Good King Wenceslas, a hymn written in 1853, the year the chapel was built.
Cover and additional photos of Christ Church, Lakefield, Ontario, courtesy of Catherine Morris.
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