Saint John church congregation set to worship in former landmark hotel
Church of St. Andrew and St. David finds new home in Admiral Beatty complex
A Christmas wish is about to come true for the tiny congregation of a church in uptown Saint John.
Barring any last-minute setbacks, the Church of St. Andrew and St. David will move into its new permanent home in the former landmark Admiral Beatty Hotel on Charlotte Street in time for worship services on Sunday.
An accounting firm used to occupy the space, prompting the need for extensive renovations, said Terre Hunter, the chair of the board of trustees for the church.
"This room won't be 100 per cent finished for the weekend," Hunter said Thursday of the worship space.
"Obviously, there will be some wall treatments we want to do, and so on. But, basically, the walls are painted, the floor will be down, the chairs will be here, and we'll have our own group and our own space."
The previous church on Germain Street, built in 1879, had been deemed too costly to maintain. It was sold to developers two months ago.
The congregation from the Church of St. Andrew and St. David secured worship space at Trinity Church, directly across from its new home, while work on the new facility was completed.
"We were pretty much unanimous in that it's in the area that we want to be in," Hunter said. "It's right across the street from Trinity. We've developed a really nice relationship with them, which we hope to foster and continue on with that."
Hunter said the new space will also include an office, a meeting room and a small kitchen.
He expects work to continue on the location for another month.