My grandmother was a pastoral teacher. When I was younger, I was a mass server in my little village of Sainte-Hénédine and I was one of the “Sheep of Jesus”. I have been playing in orchestras of all kinds for a long time and I have toured certain villages in Quebec with cadet musical ensembles to play in the communities. Churches are therefore buildings that have always been part of my life.
I have a great attachment to this monument of architecture and the arts that stands in our communities, even though I have abandoned religious practice for some time. For me, they have become a community center, a theater, a gathering place. There is a feeling of well-being and serenity that emanates from these buildings.
The Ensemble philharmonique de la Capitale, a community orchestra that I direct, has held its rehearsals in churches since I have known the ensemble. Initially at the Saint-Michel-de-Sillery church, we had to move our premises during the pandemic, since the old ones no longer suited our growing orchestra. After several steps, we had the pleasure of moving into the premises of the Saint-Charles-Garnier church. Our musicians quickly adapted (and attached) to this new church, which became our new home and which fulfilled our needs.
What was our sadness to learn that this church will be downgraded and that we have until June 20 to leave our premises!
For a community orchestra like ours, it is not only a loss, but also a source of several inconveniences, since we have to find new premises suitable for orchestral practice (both in terms of space and acoustics), which offers storage space (difficult to move timpani at each rehearsal) and is affordable (a community orchestra does not run on gold). For all the community organizations, it’s a dozen little dramas.
Apart from their religious vocation, our churches play an essential role for the community environment and they are the heart of the different communities they serve. They welcome several organizations that would not have the means to settle in other places. They provide an accessible gathering place for the community. They are affordable venues, often with unique acoustics, for amateur/community ensembles. In addition to often containing several works of art (not to mention their organ), they are one themselves. Not to mention all the culture and history they carry within their walls.
In short, our churches still have enormous potential for our society, whether as a community center, as a theater, as a refuge, as a library, etc.
It would be good if one day we learned to appreciate these monuments to their full value. To see more than their religious significance, but also their crucial role within communities. Let’s rethink them and convert them into something other than a space for condos. Let us grasp the enormous potential of these buildings to serve and bring together an enormously divided population, where contact with one’s neighbor is becoming increasingly rare. Let us see more than a pile of materials and profitable land, but the heart of a community.
Until that day arrives, we must continue to fight to ensure their survival and allow a community organization like the Ensemble philharmonique de la Capitale to find a home there.