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Historic church in Clare wins $50K in ‘Next Great Save’ contest

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Église Sainte-Marie in Church Point has won the National Trust for Canada’s ‘Next Great Save’ competition out of 12 finalists.

The church will receive the grand prize of $50,000 to go towards repairs.

A Facebook group working to save the building from demolition called ‘Sainte-Marie héritage et développement’ announced the good news on Saturday morning.

“We’re proud to share that Association Sainte-Marie héritage et développement has placed first in the Next Great Save,” said the post. “With the grand prize, we’ll be repairing the steeple so Sainte-Marie’s bells can ring once again.”

The 120-year-old structure’s bell system has been out of operation since 2012. Group member Stephanie St-Pierre said that system and emergency steeple repairs are the focus.

RELATED: Historic church in Clare a finalist in ‘Next Great Save’ contest

They thank everyone who voted, shared, and supported the cause, and recommended people check out the other finalists that were in the running.

“Stay tuned for upcoming public events and keep sharing your ideas. Your voice will help shape the future of Sainte-Marie as a gathering place for our community once again,” the post concluded.

clare church

Historic church in Clare a finalist in ‘Next Great Save’ contest

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A former church in Clare needs your vote.

Eglise Sainte-Marie in Church Point made the top 12 of Canada’s ‘Next Great Save’ competition.

The winner gets $50,000 toward repairs.

Stephanie St-Pierre is part of a group called ‘Sainte-Marie heritage et developpement.’

They’ve been working for well over a year to save the building from the wrecking ball.

Last October the province maintained heritage status for the 120-year-old structure.

St-Pierre says says if they win this contest, they’ll focus on emergency repairs to the steeple.

“There’s one decorative symbol that’s been leaning, we’re working toward having that fixed,” said St-Pierre.

St-Pierre says they’ll also repair the bell system, which has been out of operation since 2012.

“So winning this prize would give Sainte-Marie her voice back, and we’ll be able to hear the bells chime for the first time in this community in 14 years.”

The group is in the process of a transfer of ownership from the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, St-Pierre says they wanted the repairs to be approved by the archdiocese before proceeding.

A launch party is planned for the first day of voting on April 7 at 6:30 p.m.

St-Pierre invites everyone to bring bells, they’ll be serving cookies and hot chocolate, with music and activities.

“We need to show our community support for this project. We need votes everyday from the 7th to the 24th of April.”

She says the church is dry for the first time in almost a decade, and they’ve done repairs to the north section of the roof above the organ.

“We fundraised enough to do that, it was paid for by the community. We worked with a local company (East Roofing in Yarmouth) to help with the repair. They also removed wet insulation in the attic, so now we have clear pictures to send to the architects.”

St-Pierre says they’re also doing a high-tech scan of the steeple before the end of the summer.

She adds they want to turn it into a heritage destination, and a useful space for the community.