jermalism: Abandonment Issues: Knox United Church

Knox Church was constructed on Wolfe Street, between Park and Rubidge, in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1910. Within a few years, the body of the large church was added and this portion of the building became known as Keith Hall, a multi-purpose community centre.

The original Knox United Church / Keith Hall

Knox United Church Peterborough,
Ontario

In 2011, one hundred and one years after the church opened, the congregation at Knox United Church had dwindled and shrunk to an unsustainable low, from over four hundred to a mere forty, and the church was shut down by the United Church of Canada.

A potential deal quickly emerged to sell the property to a local community drop-in centre, but the neighborhood went into an uproar about the unsavory characters that would attract, and coincidentally, the deal fell through. The United Church is still hoping to attract a buyer, and as I found out, is currently renting space to several community groups, a catering company and other interested parties. Although it is far from being abandoned, it has lost its intended function, and its future is unknown. With the church actively seeking a buyer, it seemed important to document this magnificent structure in its current state before it is purchased and renovated into god knows what.

Most of the stained glass had been covered with thick plastic on the outside, I noticed, after ringing the doorbell. The gentleman that I had spoken with previously answered the door, with a smile, a handshake and a warmth that stayed with us for almost two hours. He answered all of our questions, discussed our own religious inexperience with no judgment, and best of all, allowed us to meander throughout the church extensively, with his company. He even allowed me to climb up into the old tower that no one had been into for decades, and climb around in the ultra-tight inner workings behind the organ, which was truly awesome. Unfortunately, it was so tight, I regretfully didn't bring the camera into the organ. He allowed us to poke around in back rooms, including the choir rehearsal room, which was now filled with Christmas storage and church memorabilia. He showed us artifacts and memorabilia donated to the church over the century that it served the community, and told us about his efforts to contact the kin of such donors, that have long since left the flock, to return these items. He took us into the locked minister's study and basement, and showed us every marriage certificate in the churches history. As we perused a plethora of historic photographs, he offered an elegant and timely narrative. He even chuckled when I jokingly referred to his beloved church as The Church of Hard Knox.

Upon exiting, we thanked him for his time and graciousness and offered one last series of questions that only time will ever answer.

Have the sheep lost their way, or has the Shepard? Is the flock finally free, or are they doomed?

Welcome to Knox United Church