Anglican Church gets a makeover

By Ken Johnston
Editor

At 107 years old, the Rainy River Anglican church looks like it is almost brand new thanks to the efforts of some of its congregation.
While the church doesn’t have regular services any more members of the church decided about four years ago to fix the building up in an effort to generate more interest in it.
Holding suppers and raffles they raised money to pay for the renovations which are now complete.
The basement has been painted, new chairs and tables bought.
New carpeting has been installed on the main floor and major stucco work was done to repair cracking walls in the main worship hall. New paint was applied wherever needed.
Even the exterior of the building has been redone!
Great attention was paid to details. One member took the old register covers and cleaned them. That lead to the discovery that they were brass. They look beautiful adorning the church floors now.
Previously there was historical artifacts at the front of the church, but few people were able to see them. So the volunteers that worked on the renovations fixed up the front office space and converted it into a museum. “Now everyone can see them and enjoy the history,” said Bunny Gaudry.
In addition to the regular fundraisers they had an idea to do a memory tree. Looking on line Gaudry found that many of them were done in brass and very expensive. “Someone suggested we ask Rick Peterson if he could make one out of wood for us,” said Gaudry. He agreed and the tree is now in place. People can buy the leaves in memory of individuals ($50) or couples ($75). All money will be used to help keep the church going.
There will be a special service to celebrate the completion of the renovations on Oct. 30, 2011 at 12:30 p.m. It will be a potluck and all are welcome to attend and bring a dish. There will be special music and baptisms that day.
The church currently has access to a minister from Emo for special services. If enough people show an interest in holding regular services in Rainy River, both Gaudry and Pam Ivall said they would love to try and get at least one regular service a month going.
Anyone interested in the church or purchasing a leaf on the memory tree can contact any Anglican Church member.
The church will also be holding a roast pork dinner on Oct. 6th to raise money.