Callander Catholic church welcomes parishioners from neighbouring Anglican church
When structural issues closed St. Peter’s Anglican Church two weeks ago, parishioners were left without a place to celebrate Christmas service.
“We ended up having an engineering report done on the building and it was deemed unsafe,” said Fr. Kevin McAllister, who is the incumbent at St. Peter’s.
So McAllister turned to Fr. Daniele Muscolino, pastor at the St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church, for help.
“It was actually the first time Fr. Kevin and I met," said Muscolino. "He was sharing with me some of the issues the building at St. Peter’s was having."
The Catholic congregation was told of a plan to share the building with the Anglican congregation and they happily agreed. They opened their doors to members of the Anglican community so they could hold their own Christmas service.
“At one point it looked like we were going to have it in our living rooms, so this was far better,” said McAllister.
The St. Peter’s Anglican Church structure is more than 130 years old and it’s been temporarily closed. It is currently unknown if or when it will reopen.
“It’s up to the congregation and the Diocese of Algoma to try and come up with a resolution concerning the building and what the future of St. Peter’s might be,” said McAllister.
Muscolino said the faith community in Callander is tightknit and helping fellow Christians in need is the right thing to do. He compared the situation to the nativity story.
“It’s similar to the Christmas story -- Mary and Joseph had no place to go,” he said. “But here in Callander, it’s different than Bethlehem. Our neighbours had somewhere to go.”
For the time being, Anglicans will continue to celebrate their own service at St. Alphonsus Liguori, separate from the Catholic mass times. While it may feel a little different, both church leaders said it’s all about people coming together and practising their faith.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated J&J cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.