It was sold to the city and will be turned into a paramedic station.
From here:
Dear Resident:
Re: Public drop-in session, Wednesday, September 18 – intended development of southwest Oakville paramedic station.
This letter is in follow up to the August 15 letter you received regarding Halton Region’s intention to develop a paramedic station in southwest Oakville at 1258 Rebecca Street, formerly St. Hilda’s Anglican Church. As mentioned in the letter, the Region will be holding a public drop-in session to answer any questions and to hear your thoughts on the construction and operation of a paramedic station at this site. Details about that session have now been confirmed and we hope you can attend.
[…..]
Construction of the new paramedic station is targeted to begin in late 2014, pending planning approvals.
As a reminder, information about the planning and intended development of the station can also be found at www.halton.ca/SWOakvilleStation. We will continue to update the page regularly.
We look forward to hearing from you at the drop-in session. If you are unable to attend and have any questions, please call me at 905-825-6000, ext. 7091, send me an email at greg.sage@halton.ca, or contact Christine Barber, Deputy Chief/Manager, Operations at 905-825-6000 ext. 7045 or christine.barber@halton.ca.
And here:
Why do we intend to build a paramedic station at 1258 Rebecca Street?
- A new paramedic station will support the health and safety of residents in the community.
- Southwest Oakville has one of the highest rates of paramedic calls in Halton Region.
- The area needs a paramedic station to help paramedics respond to calls in the area more quickly, which will improve patient outcomes and save lives.
- The need for a station in southwest Oakville was identified in 2005, in the Emergency Medical Services 10-Year Master Plan.[…..]
What else will be going on this property?
- We have no plans for the remainder of the property at this time.
- Any future land use is required to be approved by Council and the community would be consulted before anything moved forward.
- The community can be assured that the property will be maintained in good condition at all times by the Region.
When will construction begin and end?
- Pending permits, demolition would then happen in the fall of 2013.
- Pending approvals, construction will begin in late 2014 or early 2015.
- The station is scheduled to be operational in 2015.
St. Hilda’s rectory was sold a number of months back for $650,000; it is now a hole in the ground beside a large pile of earth:
And here is a portion of the letter from the bishop promising to keep the church open:
Well, I guess they only promised to support those who chose to stay. The selling of the property suggests there was no one left?
Their whole premise for wanting this property was based on lies.
Sad end to the saga, but at least it is dedicated to saving lives instead of souls. The Bird could do neither, but he does have a good lawyer.
So even those who remain have become displaced at the Bishop’s whim.
It would be nice if the city could leave a reminder of St, Hilda’s
Remember the wide and narrow road? The love for money will get you in a place where the compassion of Christ can’t save you.
I know it must be painful, and so I am glad that you posted this. We all knew that the diocese was pretending that there was a “split”; and that in fact they were simply seizing the building.
If it is not too painful, would you take the time to ferret out all the claims you have by the diocese to this effect, and produce a referenced digest of them, together with the press announcements of the sale and demolition? This ought to exist, for the historical record.
Especially claims made formally to the court and the press.
I’ve said it before.
Never stand between an Anglican cleric and a bucket of money.
This whole saga shows where their priorities lay. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
“What else will be going on this property?
◾We have no plans for the remainder of the property at this time.”
Is there any possibility that some of the property could be purchased by the ANiC and a new Church Constructed?
It is always sad to close any worshipping centre, especially an active one for many years. But the church is people, not a particular building. Wherever people meet to worship the triune God, there is the church. I don’t think the early church owed too many church buildings.
One other thought. Doesn’t this saga rather tend to show that the Anglican Church of Canada has no expectation whatsoever of ever building a new church building anywhere? Because what on earth could they say, if they tried raising money for one? “Hey kids, give us a load of money to build a church; but remember, it’s our property and we will happily sell it to the highest bidder to be knocked down, if we feel like it”?
I rather doubt that anybody, however naive, would be inclined to give more than small change. Not after what happened to St Hildas. And they must know that. So ….
The diocesan plan for the future is steady state (at best). Which means that they themselves really believe they are doomed.
This is what happens to any organisation where the paper-shufflers replace the entrepreneurs and visionaries. In business we call it “what happens when the accountants try running the business”.
Poor souls. We must pray for “bishop” Bird and his friends. They have done great evil, mainly out of spite, and have nothing to look forward to but extinction.
Most people in the ACoC are completely unaware of the ANiC. We can also safely assume that the news of the sale of Saint Hilda’s is not going to be widely publicized among the Parishes.
As per the future plans of the ACoC it seems that an eventual union with the Lutherans is in the works. Spreading the Gospel and planting new Missions/Congregations/Parishes is practically never talked about. After all, that would mean actually converting people and that would involve convincing them that previously held beliefs were wrong!
How sad a thing it is to see a once Faithful Church lose it way. They have forgotten the Great Commission, and the fact that a Church that does not “go and make disciples of all nations” is a “worthless servant”. We all should know what happened to that servant!
Would the proverb of the talents apply here?
I think it does. The treasure that Jesus talks about is the people of Faith. And we see that in the events surrounding Saint Hilda’s that a “treasure” has been taken away from one “servant” and entrusted to another.
In spite of the fact that the building is about to be bulldozed, the diocese still has St. Hilda’s listed on its website as if it were a functioning parish; coming to grips with unintended irony has always been a struggle for the diocesan hierarchy:
The angels must weep to see Niagara bulldoze the faithful ministry of St Hilda’s.
The town should realize that the Diocese never intended that this building should continue as a church (the blocks were up within days of the congregation leaving) and should charge taxes from May, 2012.
As a member of St. Hilda’s, I’m glad that it is finished and we know what is planned for the property. We lost our particular ministry of Freebie Friday to the students of Blakelock HS, but we have seen the program bear fruit in students witnessing miracles in their lives.
I’m so sad about the lies that were told in court, and the disrespect that was thrown in our faces in some of the mediation process. We continue to pray for those people.
The ACoC is now in the real estate business. We of St. H’s are in the disciple- making business, and happily moving on.
Since this was bought with taxpayer money, one should be able to discover the purchase price…
we have a new “Church” because we are a new (and wonderfu and vibrant) Church! (I understand and thank you for your sentiment though)
One more nail in the coffin of the Anglican Church of Canada.