A staple of the black community in Little Burgundy, the Union United Church is quickly deteriorating, and its congregation is on the hunt for a new home.
Standing since 1907 at 3700 Delisle St. near Atwater Ave., Union United was founded by a group of black railway porters who had been shunned by white congregations.
"I came here with Oscar Peterson. I took piano lessons with him for ten cents on Saturday. That's how much we paid. It was a wonderful time," said member Florence Philips.
The century-old building is now in shambles; water infiltration is a major problem, the roof is damaged, the walls are crumbling and the foundation of the church has been extremely damaged.
"Not that we have neglected the property, but it has gotten to a point where we can no longer make any major repairs on it," said Rev. Emmanuel Ofori.
Demolishing the building and starting over from scratch may be a more worthwhile option than making repairs, but they will be forced to temporarily relocate, said Ofori.
"We are surely going to come back in this same spot," he said,
Still, rebuilding the church from the ground up is an expensive undertaking, said Rev. Shaun Fryday of the Montreal Presbytery.
"There is a central building committee and within the structure of the church there is a group that is specifically tasked with the long-term fundraising effort," he explained.
It remains unclear whether any of the original architecture will be preserved, explained Dinu Bumbaru, policy director of Heritage Montreal, a group working to preserve and promote the architectural and cultural history of the city.
"That's something to discuss with the borough and the city of Montreal, and it is very important that the community and its leader actually do that step before they decide on their project," said Bumbaru.
Members of the congregation said they'll stand behind their church, no matter the outcome.
"Right now it upsets me a bit, but we'll work it out. We have to," said Phillips.
