The Central Presbyterian Church in Galt is hard to miss.
Opened in 1882 and sitting on the bank of the Grand River, the 182 foot spire can be seen across the downtown core.
When the sun shines, stain glass images of religious scenes light up the interior.
On Saturday, May 6 residents of Cambridge will be able to experience it all during the church’s open house.
“We’ll have mini tours, there will be an organ player and demonstrations in the bells,” Horst Wohlgemut, member of the church and frequent tour guide, said.
“People will be free to roam around and ask questions.”
The community will also have the opportunity to ring the bells themselves.
Having been a part of open houses in Cambridge for years, the church came to the decision to run its own to showcase recent upgrades.
Damage from a leak in 2017, a roof replacement, and window and stonework restorations has come at a significant cost over the past several years.
The slate roof and stonework cost $2.5 million, with a pair of stain glass window projects coming in at $100,000 apiece. A lot of the work was needed to maintain the structural integrity of the building.
“The first thing I suggested to the congregation was 'let’s get some hard facts and get an engineering company in here,'” Wohlgemut said.
“What would it cost to get this whole building up to date? Give us a 30-year plan. We paid $15,000 for it but we knew what had to be done.”
Wohlgemut said there were three options. The first, stay and do nothing, ended up not being an option at all.
The second was to sell the building and move out. That would have required the church to move outside of the core because of the lack of affordable real estate within the city.
The third was to perform the restorations over time, which was the eventual direction they chose to go.
With the church being a staple in the core and even featured frequently in film and television projects, including for Designated Survivor, Murdoch Mysteries and The Handmaid’s Tale, it was important to the congregation that it continue to serve the community in its current location.
“We’re a downtown church, we feel a mission,” Wohlgemut said.
“We make ourselves open to groups to come in like the symphony orchestra. We run a very strong support for the food bank. We believe in outreach. People are here and we're here to help them. We hope that if they feel comfortable they come and worship with us.”
The open house is an opportunity for the church to educate residents and potentially raise money to help cover some of the costs of the repairs and restorations.
“We want to make sure people come in here and see what has been done,” Wohlgemut said.
“Hopefully, someone who has an interest in architecture and heritage buildings will help.”
For Wohlgemut, the stain glass windows and history is what he loves most and he's excited to share it with the community on Saturday.
“This is a little jewel we have right here,” he said.
“Think about what happened in Preston with the Preston Springs, that was a beautiful building and they tore it down. It's an exercise in communicating with the community that we’re here and want to work with them.”
The open house will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include live music, memorabilia displays, and an opportunity for guests to access the bell tower to ring the church bells.
Anyone interested in donating to the costs of the restorations can visit centralchurchcambridge.ca.
