The church at the heart of Montreal's English-speaking Black community will soon be open again.
Closed for years while in need of $1 million worth of renovations, Union United Church is ready to welcome parishioners back this Sunday with a special service of thanksgiving.
Last minute touch-ups are still being done, but come Sunday, Rev. Bill Jay will welcome the congregation home.
“It's going to be a joyful day,” he said.
The congregation was forced out four years ago because the ceiling was in poor shape; walls and floors also needed attention.
“There had been a lot of damage to the building through infiltration of water through the leaking roof,” he explained.
Mould and asbestos insulation had to be removed. The plumbing and wiring needed to be updated, new toilets were installed and a general redecorating was required.
During the renovations, the congregation relocated, first to Rosedale United in NDG, until that church was sold; then for the past few months at Wesley United, also in NDG.
There's no place like home, said Union United’s outreach director Kaye Francis McKenzie.
“I am so happy to be here. As I walked in and I see the familiar, it was just like a big sigh of relief. We are home. We are home,” said McKenzie.
During the renovations, programs that normally run out of Union United had to be relocated. The food bank currently operates out of a building across the street.
“We hope to be moving that back downstairs shortly, by the end of the month, so that has continued,” said McKenzie.
The manse next door is still in need of repairs and the masonry on the church must be redone.
“It's the one part of the building that's actually eligible for government assistance through heritage funding,” said Jay.
Sunday's service of thanksgiving will feature a performance by pianist Oliver Jones, performing on the baby grand piano he donated to the church.
