We know that many members of our congregation had an opportunity to visit our chapel at the open house on the day of the garage sale in September.  Some of our congregation were members of St. Jude’s when that fledgling chapel was our only place of worship even as our numbers grew and were far outreaching its capacity.  That opportunity to visit brought both fond memories and some stark revelations.  While some cosmetic painting had been done to freshen the face of the chapel for the day of the open house, a closer look revealed some structural damage.  The chapel has been deteriorating over time.  Visitors to the chapel that day expressed warmth for the heritage that we are honoured to have entrusted to us, and concern for the safeguarding of this vintage church. 

To protect the heritage and importance of this, the oldest remaining church in Scarborough, our Chapel was designated as an historical site in 1995.  With this designation came important access to heritage grants but also, further responsibility to maintain and take care to replicate the exterior of the building with materials and craftsmanship that honours the era in which it was built.  Of course we also have canonical responsibility in our diocese to be good stewards of our church structures and responsibilities to the city to maintain a safe building.  Understanding this responsibility, in the 1980s Fr. Art Lawson spearheaded a successful fundraising campaign that garnered fifty-thousand dollars for restoration work.  Now some 25 years later the chapel of course needs work to maintain and restore its historical legacy and yet costs have likewise risen over that quarter century.