Lift committee co-chairs Lisa Bradbury (left) and Marilyn Labow fling the first shovel of dirt into the air to announce the start of construction for the new lift at St. Andrew’s United Church in Beachburg. In the back are, from left, Rev. Kevin Moratz, building committee chairman Jim Labow, Ian Wright, Ian Marshall and Neil Wright. Mr. Marshall is the lift’s engineer and the Wright men are part of 3W Construction in Beachburg who were awarded the contract to construct the lift.
by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
BEACHBURG — The sod turning ceremony for the lift at St. Andrew’s United Church was witnessed by a few parishioners and guests Sunday morning. It was just one of the events held during the 125th Anniversary Service.
Six years ago an accessible washroom was put in upstairs and downstairs, with funds that were raised for the lift, said Lisa Bradbury, who is co-chair of the fundraising committee with Marilyn Labow.
While the sod-turning ceremony was held Sunday, fundraising must continue for the lift, as there is only $115,000 raised so far, and the lift will be about $140,000. The next fundraiser is a pontoon boat ride.
Construction of the lift will be done by 3W Construction of Beachburg and the engineering work was done by Ian Marshall from McIntosh Perry. It’s expected the lift will be operational by the end of June.
Ms. Labow said the difference between a lift and an elevator, besides the cost, is how it works. The lift works on a weight system, where a weight goes up and the lift comes down and vice-versa. The lift will be on the west side of the church and will go from the basement to the main floor. It’s expected the stained glass window and regular window that must be removed will be repurposed elsewhere in the church, she said.
It will be large enough to accommodate a casket, because it’s very difficult to get a casket into the church through the front door, especially with all the stairs that must be climbed, Ms. Bradbury noted.
Ms. Labow noted a lift for the church has been discussed for many years. There have been times when people could not attend church or funerals in the church, because they were not able to get up the stairs, she said, recalling that her husband’s father could not attend his own wife’s funeral service, as he couldn’t climb the stairs.
There really was no opportunity of putting in a ramp without having to criss-cross the church due to the height of the main floor, she said.
The church will remain in use while the construction is happening, as it will mostly be on the outside, Ms. Bradbury said.
Dedication of Banners
Two banners were dedicated during the anniversary service at St. Andrew’s United Church.
The 125th Anniversary Banner, recognizing the church’s history between 1892 and 2017 was designed by Rev. Kevin Moratz and Session; created by Catherine Timm; and donated by Eleanor McLaughlin in loving memory of her parents, Harold and Marjorie Dougherty.
The second banner has a 36-year history behind it. Irvin Behm donated the large banner of The Lord’s Supper in memory of Shirley Moore. After she died, Mr. Behm found the large wall hanging folded up in a box and decided to donate it to the church.
Shirley’s daughter Sue Bennett was surprised when she heard about the banner from Mr. Behm.
Her parents, Graydon and Shirley Moore, had purchased the wall hanging for Harold and Annabelle Moore’s 40th wedding anniversary in 1981 (they were Gradyon’s parents). They lived on the farm and Sue can remember visiting the farm house and the wall hanging on the wall.
“It was a big, vivid place in the livingroom,” she said, adding with a laugh, “Grandpa, who liked to joke and was fairly religious, had his favourite spot on the left side of the couch. When he sat down, he joked that he wasn’t good enough to sit on the right side of the Lord (which is the favoured side according to the Bible).”
In 1985 or 1986, the farm was sold and Graydon and Annabelle moved to a house in Eganville, and again, The Last Supper wall hanging was placed upon a wall so people would see it when they came into the home, Sue recalled.
When Graydon died and Annabelle was moving to a seniors’ home, she asked her daughter Shirley if she wanted it and she said yes. By the time Graydon died, Sue noted her grandparents had been married for 62 years.
Sue believes when her mother got the wall hanging, she packed it away and when Mr. Behm found it, decided to donate it to the church because Shirley used to tell him she had something to donate to the church, but never told him what it was. When he found the wall hanging, he figured that was it, so donated it in memory of Shirley.
“I’m honoured the church put it up,” Sue said. “It’s where dad and grandpa would like it to be – somewhere where people can enjoy it.”
