Blackburn Hamlet church celebrates milestone

“We were pleased with the turnout from the parish and community,” says Jennifer Conway-MacMurdo, warden for St. Mary’s, of the church’s Sunday, Sept. 13 event marking the occasion. “We thought, ‘We should do this more often.’”

Numbers were “even better than expected” from what is often referred to as the “little church” – a site that accommodates 60 people for services – she continues, estimating turnout for the anniversary BBQ, annual memorial service and reception at around 50.

Leading up to Sunday’s celebration, parishioners and church officials were hard at work sprucing up the building, including new plaster, paint and fully restored pews.

“It’s a 130-year-old church – it needed a little work,” Conway-MacMurdo describes. “We wanted to give it a little facelift.”

Another welcome addition to St. Mary’s was a new composting toilet, she says, after years without a washroom facility.

“(Before) we had to keep services short,” Conway-MacMurdo adds with a laugh, explaining a second Sunday morning mass has been moved back to St. Mary’s after previously being held at Louis Riel high school.

Garth Hampton, a long-time Blackburn Hamlet resident who has been with the parish since it reopened after a 12-year closure in 2005, explains St. Mary’s began with some of the east end’s early leaders, including families like the Daggs and Bradleys who helped found the area.

“It really came from the early pioneers,” he continues, with the parish established in 1876 and followed by the church building in 1879.

Though the parish has come a long way since being surrounded by farmland – Hampton recounts an old photo of one St. Mary’s wedding where the bride was greeted by a cow outside the church doors – recent years have seen a decline in numbers.

Regardless, this past weekend was a fitting time to celebrate the parish’s history, Hampton continues, pointing to work done by the church including social action in the community and charity fundraising.

“Some people don’t realize all the good things that come out of a church” beyond the religious aspects, he explains. “There’s really a lot of behind-the-scenes help.”