Events, monument help mark church’s 100th

June 23, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
The neighbourhood church has been a focal point of our communities for generations.
They were the gathering place, social venue and distribution centre for all major community events and activities.
To a certain extent, that’s still true to this very day.
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Schomberg is marking its 100th anniversary this year and plans are in the works for special events to mark this milestone. Members of the centennial committee are busy planning a number of events and projects.
There will be a mass June 27 at St. Margaret Cemetery (2nd Line, Schomberg) at 10:30 a.m.
Also that day, there will be a fundraising walk-a-thon to St. Margaret of Scotland Cemetery, leaving from St. Patrick church at 8:30 a.m. The parish youth are hosting the roughly six kilometre walk to the cemetery for celebration of mass. Pledges collected for perpetual care of the cemetery.
In May, during the 165th Schomberg Fair Parade, members of the parish CWL, family and friends carried the commemorative banner down Main Street.
Hopes are they will soon break ground on a new landscape feature and installation of a commemorative monument in celebration of the 100th anniversary.
Allstone Quarry Products of Schomberg is sizing up some beautiful granite to create a monument placed next to the walkway leading up to the church entrance.
Owner Joe Melo envisions a roughly six-foot-tall stone, complete with historic and modern engravings on each side.
He wants to incorporate a bit of the church’s past, its Irish heritage, along with modern times, as a tribute to the 100th birthday.
A veteran landscaper and stone craftsman, Melo has been involved with the Peace Garden in Toronto, Science North and the Portuguese Walk of Fame, to name a few.
Melo has been involved in the church renovations and the handicapped ramp which he oversaw in 2011.
Contributions to the installation of the monument, gardens, landscaping and benches are welcome. Sponsorship packages are available for families, supporting businesses and groups of St. Patrick’s Church.
They have set aside Oct. 3 for the unveiling of this commemorative landscape feature.
The parish’s final celebration for 2015 will be a dinner planned for late October.
The historical committee is working on the development of a commemorative booklet. A collection of historical facts and stories of the parishioners past present and future will be shared. If you’d like to contribute, contact Cathy Walsh Peters at ivan.cathy.peters@ rogers.com
Its namesake, St. Patrick, was a bishop in Ireland and known as “the Apostle of Ireland.” Saint Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17, the date of his death.
Though established in 1876, the Schomberg parish did not have a church building for almost 40 years. Instead, Mass was celebrated in the chapel/living room of the rectory. In 1915, the current church was finally built using bricks from the former Lloydtown Methodist church, which had closed. The new church was relatively small compared to those of neighbouring parishes because it was built during wartime restrictions.
Forty years have passed since a group of parishioners produced a booklet entitled, St. Patrick’s Parish Centennial 1876-1976. The committee who published this parish record worked under the leadership of Father Edward J. Jackman, O.P. who was the archivist of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Father Edward diligently undertook the challenge of researching the historical evolution of St Patrick’s Parish and an enthusiastic number of parishioners added their recollections and contributions to produce a booklet.
The booklet, enrobed in a dark green cover with its hand drawn sketch of St Patrick’s Church, contained a valued account of the Catholic settlement of our region, the founding and building of the churches and cemeteries within the parish and the 100-year history 1876 to 1976 of the parish. Unfortunately the book is out of print but if you make an inquiry from a parishioner, neighbor or visit the Schomberg Public Library, you can borrow a copy.
According to local historian Bill Foran, the challenge has now been passed on to “us, the next generation, to recollect the past, reflect on the present and contribute to the future.
“We need your help to write the new chapter of St. Patrick’s Church history during this 100th anniversary year. The challenge cannot be successfully completed by only a few. We need the valued input of all, long-time parishioners and especially younger and new parishioners of the St. Patrick Church community. Your contributions will be valued and remembered.”
Foran is asking residents to start pulling together photos and personal anecdotes about the church.