Focus on Life: Week 16

Week 16: A Moment Best Captured in Black & White

Sometimes, when there is no distraction of colour,

the image is no longer just a photo

but a clean, deeper, honest look at life.

This week I captured a sad moment in time but perhaps best captured in black and white due to the circumstances. On April 14th a devastating fire ripped through the church I attended when I lived in Aurora, Ontario many years ago. Fire crews worked around the clock trying to save the heritage building to no avail.

Fighting the flames - CTV news photo

My boys went to Sunday school here, we attended services in this building and spent many hours within these walls for a variety of other activities. My mother and I enrolled in several quilting classes that took place here. I worked for the nursery school in the north wing for awhile.

A plaque erected in front of the church says...

"In 1818, Methodists began worshipping here in a log meeting house on land acquired from William Tyler. In 1855, this building was replaced by a more substantial frame structure. It was damaged by fire and replaced in 1878 by the present church, designed by Henry Langley and built of bricks made in the valley two blocks west of this site. In 1893, the church's spires were destroyed by a cyclone. Additions have included a west wing in 1909, narthex in 1957, and north wing in 1987. In 1925, the Aurora Methodist Church became the Aurora United Church."

For the 190th anniversary of the church, this poster was on one of the large bulletin boards inside. People were encouraged to write down their memories and add them to the board. There was so many that they began to over-flow onto the picture itself.

The architect, Henry Langley, designed the church in the Gothic Revival style. It lost one of its original spires in a great storm in 1893 and both spires were removed in 1943, having been struck by lightning several times. The sanctuary was renovated in 2009.

The church , as it stood, before the fire - photo by Bhapy Sun

After the fire was extinguished and the smoke cleared - CTV news photo

I drove north to Aurora this morning to see the damage done by the fire but was not prepared for the effect that seeing the church would have on me. I stood by the security fence and cried.

View from the front

All that is left standing is the front facade and the newest addition on the north side. It's a devastating loss to the town and to the congregants.

View from the south side

The demolition crews are already on site to bring the rest of it down and haul away the debris. It makes me teary eyed just thinking about it again. I hope they can salvage the stained glass windows in the front to incorporate in the new building to come.

View from the north-east

View from the south-west

Another view from the south-west

You can, if you are so inclined, donate to the fund to re-build the church building but as the declaration on the church webpage says, "Moving forward we need to keep in mind that WE, the members of Aurora United Church, ARE the Church - wherever we gather. We are the hearts and hands on the journey."

To see the moments best captured in black and white of the other participants, check out the links below...

An InLinkz Link-up