Cathedral begins to reinvent itself

LONDON, ONT. – A new year is bringing a new look for London’s historic St. Paul’s Cathedral. Construction crews removed more than 250 wooden pews from it in January, kicking off an ambitious multi-year plan to reinvent the cathedral as part church, part creative arts incubator. It comes as the Diocese of Huron faces declining attendance and officials with the cathedral examine the building’s future role in the community.

The objective is to enhance the cathedral for use as a holy place, while opening it up to new possibilities and providing financial security for the future, said Dean Kevin George. “We believe God is at work in the creatives in this city, so, to be able to bring creatives into the space who want to perform and express themselves with their music, for instance,” he said. “We want to be able to, yes, increase some revenue, but more than that, we want to be good stewards of the space.”

Of the roughly 27,000 square feet the cathedral occupies at Queens Avenue and Richmond Street in downtown London, only a portion is being used on a given day.

“That’s not good stewardship of space,” said Dean George. “We believe God is calling us to go into the neighbourhood, find neighbours who need to use this space and provide it at a reasonable cost so that there are different ways to express people’s spirituality.”

Built between 1844 and 1846, and expanded in the late 1800s, the yellow brick, red-painted St. Paul’s is London’s oldest church, and predates the municipality by nearly a decade.

For more than a year, the diocese has worked with non-profit Trinity Centres Foundation (TCF) to rethink how the three floors of the cathedral could be used into the future. A business case by TCF, tabled before London council last May, proposed using about 9,000 square feet as a creative sector incubator with workshop spaces, studios, music practice and recording areas. It also proposed turning an empty building next door that is owned by the diocese into affordable housing, a project now underway.

A main component will see the historic cathedral area turned into a 700-seat, multi-use space for church services as well as conferences and performances. It’s this work that’s beginning first. Into the spring, crews will reinforce the floor to handle the weight of movable seating, install air conditioning and improve ventilation.

A new accessible ramp will be added and existing tile flooring removed. New hardwood floors will be installed, covering existing hardwood underneath the pews, which is believed to be original. A labyrinth may also be added. The pews themselves will be replaced with durable oak plywood chairs that can be stacked and wheeled in and out of storage.

Dean George acknowledged the cathedral was sensitive to the fact the changes may not come easy to all parishioners. “I’m so proud of the people here for embracing the notion of change and realizing that they need to think about where future generations are and how they’re going to need to worship,” he said.

The main cathedral work is expected to cost more than $1 million, with about half covered by the diocese, Dean George said. The rest will come from fundraising. It’s unclear what the larger, complex-wide plans will cost.

The work is set to last until May and services will be held in adjoining Cronyn Hall until then.

The clock is ticking. The cathedral is hosting the Anglican Church of Canada’s triennial Synod meeting in June, during which a new Primate will be elected.

CBC News