Raising the roof

‘Eternally optimistic’ is one way to describe the St. Thomas A Becket Parish in Pierrefonds. They recently underwent a major roof renovation costing $450,000 with money donated from churchgoers.

About 10 years ago, restoration became obvious when the parish brought in six architects to inspect the already decaying roof and created holes for observation purposes that were never properly patched.

Last May, the church began the overdue construction even if they have not reached the total cost yet. Currently, they are $50,000 short, but parish administration remains hopeful after witnessing how the community aided the church in raising most of the funds. “As soon as it was evident we needed repairs, the community came together to help us,” said parish treasurer Heinz Brus. “It’s truly incredible.”

St.Thomas A Becket is known for their charitable endeavours. Since their establishment in 1966 they have built a reputation as an altruistic parish by organizing food drives on a regular basis. As well as youth programs such as sending 11 children last July to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia and activities for seniors.

Support for the church did not come so easily from the borough of Pierrefonds/Roxboro, however. In their attempt to raise money, the parish was hit with a $3,700 dollar construction permit fee. “The cost all depends on what the renovation entails,” said borough mayor Monique Worth. “If you had a renovation for a couple of thousand dollars, the permit cost would be different.”

When St. Joachim Church in Pointe Claire announced their plans for renovations last December, the city charged them $1,982.

However, during the last borough council meeting on Aug. 4, Pierrefonds/Roxboro approved a subsidy of $1,500 for the church roof. The approval came three months after the parish wrote a letter asking for a reimbursement from the fees. “It’s fantastic news,” said Brus. “That’s $1,500 less we have to raise. The truth of the matter is they do not have to help us, so we are grateful for anything we can get.”