Steering committee optimistic St. Mary's Church will be built
By Bill Rea

The steering committee working on getting the new St. Mary's Catholic Church in Nobleton built includes Robert Mitchell of Davenport Architectural Corp., Chris Andrews, Elio Bellon, Fr. Paul Hancko, Livio Mascarin and Paul Colucci.

There's still work to do and money to be raised, but there's much confidence in the Nobleton community that St. Mary's Catholic Church will be built.

A steering committee from within the parish has been working to this end for about three months, and they presented a progress report last Tuesday at a meeting at St. Mary Catholic School.

"We have a dream, don't we, and this dream is to build a church," Fr. Paul Hancko told the roughly 60 people who were on hand.

He said efforts to erect a church building have been going on about 10 years, but there have been disruptions along the way. But enthusiasm has been rekindled, and money seems to be coming in. There was one contribution last year which came in the form of $2,400 in pennies.

Hancko added when he arrived at the parish a little more than a year ago, there was $100,000 set aside for the new church. Since then, some $275,000 has been raised, and they are now up to $531,494 in cash and pledges.

"It tells you something is happening, something awesome," he declared.

But it's still going to take effort, and he urged parishioners to remain positive.

"Without you, we can do absolutely nothing," he said. "We need you."

Elio Bellon, who chairs the steering committee, said the delays have been partly caused by pastors being reassigned, meaning new men have come to the area and it's taken time for them to become familiar with the local situation. "If you keep on changing pastors, nothing is going to happen," he explained.

Since the committee was formed three months ago, things have started to move again, Bellon asserted. He added he's been in touch with at least one member of the committee every day. "We want to get it going," he declared.

In order to get the project moving, Bellon said the committee has proposed a two-phase process in order to reduce the initial costs. It's estimated that the whole project will cost around $2.7 million, but by phasing it, they hope to get the initial costs down to $2 million. Once the parish raises half of that, the arch diocese will be able to put up the other half in a loan.

Phasing the work means a number of parts of the church will not be completed right away. Bellon explained that as cost-cutting measure, the proposed tower for the church will not be built at first. As well, the church basement will be installed, but not finished until the second phase. Washrooms will be in place, but the plumbing for the kitchen will only be roughed-in in the first phase. The proposed balcony will also be constructed, but not finished until later. The church will open with just ordinary chairs at first. Pews will come later. And the parking area will just have a gravel surface, with paving and curbs to come later.

Bellon also said the committee has set out a plan of action until May 16, including regular meetings with parish members to update them on the progress.

The architect is working on drawings for the pricing stage, Bellon said. They are almost complete. He hoped that can be done by the end of the month, allowing a contractor to give a price.

"We want to get into the ground this summer," he said, as he asked parish members to give this project priority. "If we don't do it now, who knows when?"

Bellon also offered some information of what the completed church is going to look like. There will be about 400 seats in the church and another 100 in the balcony, when it's finished. The structure will have a front facade of manufactured stone that he said will be durable. The building will have a steel frame. The walls will have a brick face on the outside with a metal, studded wall and more brick facing inside. These walls will require little maintenance, as there will be no need for things like drywall or painting. There will also be ceramic tiles on the floors.

A booklet is being prepared for members of the parish, outlining what sort of items will be for sale to help reduce the costs. Bellon said it will be distributed in the next month, and will include items like pews, windows, Stations of the Cross, the alter, etc. He added the Catholic Women's League (CWL) has paid for the statue of Mary, and the front doors to the church have been pledged too.

Bellon also said the committee has met with Bishop Peter Hundt, auxiliary bishop of Toronto, and he seemed impressed and enthused with the effort being shown. He also said money is available from donors, but also warned it is still in people's pockets. That led to a pitch for donations.

With development anticipated for Nobleton, Bellon said many families will be moving into the area, and he added many more would be fed up with the Church meeting in a school gym. "We need this now, and the only way we can do it is with your enthusiasm," he declared.

Robert Mitchell, of Davenport Architectural Corp. in Barrie, told the audience he's been involved in the project for about five years, and he's been feeling very confident that the new committee is ready to move on. He added the plans have been adjusted to allow for the type of phasing Bellon mentioned.

"This church will exist in the future," he asserted.

But there were some in the room who were still concerned about where the money would come from, and how much the loan from the arch diocese would cost in the long-run. There was even a suggestion to not bother with the basement in the first phase, as a way of keeping costs even lower.

Hancko countered the basement is needed for meeting rooms, banquet facilities, etc. Bellon added the local Knights of Columbus and CWL currently meet at Nobleton Town Hall.

Fr. Ed Jackman, who identified himself as a local church historian, said the loan would take about 10 or 15 years to pay off. "It's nothing to be worried about," he said, adding parishes help each other in the arch diocese. He also advised against not bothering with the basement, pointing out it will be a revenue source for the church. "If you don't have the basement, you'll never get the church paid off," he warned.

There was also a suggestion of employing volunteer labour. Committee member Paul Colucci said that might be possible with some of the finishing work, but there would be numerous labour-related issues once a contractor is hired.

Committee member Livio Mascarin added there have been talks with Slokker Canada about helping out with the project. He said there's a verbal commitment from the developer, provided commitment is shown by the community.

Committee member Chris Andrews also told people there would be a snowball effect. Once people see that work has actually started, and as more families move into the community, people will be more willing to contribute.

One man said he's been a member of the parish for 12 years, and he's never been approached for a donation.

"Get out there," he urged. "Let's hustle for some money. We'll raise the money."