Parish hopes groundbreaking will provide boost to fundraising efforts

As if on cue, the wind died down and the sun peeked through the clouds as close to 150 worshippers and well-wishers gathered June 3 to watch the groundbreaking for the new St. Jude's cathedral.

Reading from the book of Ephesians, Rt. Rev Andrew Atagotaaaluk, the bishop of the Arctic, called on worshippers at the outdoor service to donate money and volunteer to help complete the new church.

Church officials will need all the help and money they can get. To date, only a fraction of the money required to rebuild the cathedral has been raised.

"That's the way we will need to move: step by step," he said. "Money is what is going to get the material, but it is going to be teamwork of people to complete the project."

Premier Paul Okalik was to turn the sod June 1, but was called to Ottawa at the last minute.

Rev. Paul Idlout, the retired bishop of the Arctic and the first Inuk to hold that post, stepped in to handle the gleaming shovel and dug a few ceremonial mounds of dirt while reporters and churchgoers snapped pictures.

Idlout called Sunday's service "a really good starting point."

"It is a beginning," he said.

The old cathedral burned down at the hands of an arsonist in November 2005, devastating the local Anglican community but also triggering immediate vows to rebuild. The cost of a replacement has been put at between $6 million to $7 million.

Atagotaaluk said it's important to rebuild the cathedral as soon as possible because it serves as a spiritual centre for Anglicans all over Baffin Island who come to the capital for medical treatment or government services.

"So many people wanted to have some spiritual home where they can feel at home when the come to Iqaluit," he said. "And I think the cathedral, St. Jude's Parish, has played a very important part in providing that spiritual home for people who are either here temporarily or passing through."

Atagotaaluk said construction on the replacement is likely a long way off. But he said the parish hopes to start ordering construction materials for the fall of 2008.

"Even if it was late 2008 it would be an accomplishment," he said. "So we are looking forward to something else added on to that."

Rev. Ron McLean, chair of the church's fundraising committee, said the campaign has raised nearly $1.5 million to date, including $118,000 locally and more than $250,000 from the Ottawa Anglican community. McLean, who watched the old igloo-shaped church burn, said the groundbreaking ceremony was moving.

"It was a big day," he said. "It was really good to see that crowd and it shows the hunger people have for this church."

McLean said construction on a nearby home for the soup kitchen and thrift store is underway and will cost about $450,000. The facility will allow soup kitchen volunteers to do their own cooking.

"It all goes ahead and everyone wins," McLean said. "God is good."