St. Joachim Parish in La Broquerie turns 125 next year, but there's a lot of work ahead to get it into shape.
Luc Grenier sits on the financial committee for the parish, and is the president of the 125th committee, which is seeking to raise over $1 million for an extensive project.
"Through the years it's aged, and I guess we noticed that there was some issues in a few places. Like for the foundation, the bricks are cracking, the windows are leaking, there's no insulation in the walls, the lighting is over 60 years old, and so is the wiring," he said, adding the doors don't work well for people with mobility issues.
Grenier said an engineering firm has already come to scope out the building and help nail down what needs to be done and when.
"They said, 'Your building is actually in very very good shape for being 125 years old.' But — there's always a but — there's a a portion in the east end where the foundation is giving way and that needs to be taken care of sooner than later," Grenier said, assuring the church will not fall down tomorrow.
"Then there's... uplift on beams, so we have to look at that, there's a few joists that are totally broken in a spot that we don't use luckily, so we've got to address that, and a few other odds and ends in the basement," he said.
While they're not starting from scratch with the building, he said there is a lot of thought and consideration that has to go into it.
"The thing is, all that material that was used back in the early 1900s, was all local," Grenier said.
He noted noting the bricks were made between Steinbach and La Broquerie, the lumber came from saw mills in the area, the foundation was put together by rocks picked out of local fields, and the carvings in the church were all crafted in and by the community.
"We care about the church, and we care about the parish, but we also care about the heritage. The culture is also a big factor that we care about, so we're very fond of our building because it's the pillar of the municipality, or of the town. It's one of the very first buildings that was built in and around here," he said.
While it's hard to say how much has been raised in total, Grenier said $200,000 in cash has come in. Others have pledged to help with various renovations, and will contribute the renovation cost once it's been quoted.
Several community businesses and organizations have also given the parish grants.
"Then there's a whole bunch of private donations that came in, and every day we get different promises... because we said, we don't need the lump sum, but if you've got a number in your mind and want to help us for three years or four years, and you wanna spread it out on that number of years, we're fine with that," Grenier said.
On Sunday, the committee held a luncheon onto share its vision for the restoration project, meet with key contributors, and celebrate the generosity of donors.
"The atmosphere was pretty positive," Grenier said.
"We actually released the plans for the new front steps that are going to be installed, which will be with two accessible ramps with one on both sides... with automated doors. Then we also have enough funding to do the insulation in the walls, and in the attic of the whole church," he said.
"There was really good feedback on this project."
The committee hopes to see construction start this May.
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Written with files from Kenton Dyck