From here:
Right idea, wrong location.
That’s the sentiment expressed by more than 70 southwest Oakville residents Wednesday night at a public meeting regarding Halton Region’s plan to build an ambulance station and safe haven at the site of the former St. Hilda’s Anglican Church.
The Region recently purchased the two-acre site at 1258 Rebecca St.
While the meeting at T.A. Blakelock High School was set up as a drop-in information centre, after about 30 minutes, Regional representatives bowed to demand from residents and switched to a town hall format.
In 2005, the Region’s 10-Year Emergency Services Master Plan identified the need for a paramedic station to respond more quickly to emergency medical calls in southwest Oakville.
“We agree with this, but there are more suitable locations within less than two minutes,” said resident Cindy Wagg, pointing to Speers Road and non-residential areas.
Resident Ella Kokotsis says thousands of children and teens in the Rebecca Street area travel to school by bus, bicycle or on foot. The area also has a daycare centre, retirement residence, churches and a library. Kokotsis and others are concerned about pedestrian safety.
It’s nice to be missed.
Could the former members buy it back now that Diocese does not own it?
Since the diocese did no maintenance on it since we left, the building is probably in a state of terminal disrepair (flooded basement, mould everywhere etc.). I doubt that Halton will stop its plans for the EMS station, but even if it did and it wanted to sell the property, the cost of buying it and the major renovations would almost certainly be beyond our means.
We are doing very nicely in our rental facilities. They are air conditioned and have much better toilets.
All of which conditions could be tackled by volunteers under some professional guidance. Whole roofs can be replaced, walls stripped and redone, basements pumped and sealed, etc., all by volunteer labour. It is just time and work.
So let me get this straight.
The leadership drove the real Christians out onto the streets, allowed their building to decay, sold it off contrary to indications that it would be kept, and now it’s being turned into a paramedic centre that apparently the locals do not want.
Is there any better example of the importance of orthodox doctrine and intolerance for heterodox individuals being elevated to positions of responsibility? When the heterodox are permitted to remain, they have a habit of getting their hands on the levers of power, and pasturing themselves on the sheep until they have malnourished them, driven them away, or “killed” them spiritually altogether.
Any building is not being used to the glory of God may be used to glorify humans instead.