By Matt Weingarden, Local Journalism Initiative, Lakeshore News Reporter
A small group of volunteers is hoping to breathe new life to the St. Joachim Church, which has sat vacant for almost a quarter of a century.
The church, built in 1890, has served St. Joachim until it closed its doors in 2000.
“About a year ago I became aware that the Dioceses of London still owned St. Joachim Church and were prepared to convey it to Municipality or Non-profit for a nominal sum,” said Paul Mullins, who is spearheading the project to save the historic building.
Mullins says that he has been able to secure a $30,000 donation to hire some consultants, architects and engineers to deem if the project is even feasible.
“These types of assessments will help to determine whether we can do something to save all or a part of the building,” said Mullins. “My hope was that we could at least save the façade.”
Mullins shared that the plan was to pump water out of the basement so engineers could examine the footings and structure to see if it was secure enough to move forward with renovations. Inspections have confirmed that the building is structurally sound, and renovation is possible.
“It has been determined that the basement floors and walls were in incredibly good condition,” he said. “In the process of getting the church cleaned up we’ve had a number of volunteers join us and over the course of the last few weeks we have made progress with some significant repairs within.”
Together with a small group of volunteers, known as the Friends of St. Joachim, they have been ripping up old carpeting, tearing down and replacing drywall.
Mullins shares that he is confident that the building can be saved and put back into service for the community.
“It’s one of those situations where seeing is believing and we want people to come see what’s happening for themselves,” Mullins said.
An open house is being extended to the public running on Saturday and Sunday November 2nd and 3rd from 1 till 3 p.m. at the church located on Cty Rd. 42 in St. Joachim. All are invited.
You can connect with Paul Mullins if you have questions or wish to volunteer at 519-982-3300
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