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Extreme makeover at St. Jude's

Anglicans plan $7 million snowdrifts for igloo-shaped church

SARA MINOGUE

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A series of skylights will "flood the church with light," when renovations are done at St. Jude's cathedral. (PHOTO COURTESY OF FSC ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS)

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The Anglican Diocese of the Arctic is planning a major renovation of the aging St. Jude's Cathedral in downtown Iqaluit, with a $7 million price tag.

The igloo-shaped building went up in 1972, and was designed to fit 150 people. Today, it often accommodates up to 500 for weddings and funerals. The new structure makes room for 650.

"We're doing the same thing the people that built the present cathedral did in 1972," says Capt. Ron McLean, a pastor for the Anglican Church in Iqaluit. "We're looking 30 years ahead."

McLean says that $7 million is "a lot of money," but this project will not rely on local funding.

On May 18, Rt. Rev. Andrew P. Atagotaaluk, Bishop of the Arctic in Yellowknife, wrote a letter to Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik to announce the results of a feasibility study by Ketchum Canada of Calgary.

Ketchum found that the Anglican Church would be able to raise the $7 million by campaigning internationally. Ketchum plans to approach people across the North, and contacts in southern Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain on the church's behalf.

"There are many people around the world that have a very keen interest in the Arctic," McLean says.

This weekend, McLean will travel to Ottawa with Atagotaaluk and Bishop Paul Idlout to celebrate National Aboriginal Day on June 21, and to make their first fundraising pitch at Ottawa's Christ Church Cathedral.

The project to rebuild St. Jude's got underway a year and a half ago, when the executive committee agreed that it was time to expand the cathedral. The committee chose to keep the project "low key" until funding questions could be resolved.

Idlout was the chairman of the committee that hired FSC Architects and Engineers in Iqaluit to design the renovation, which expands the church's capacity while keeping with the igloo theme.

The design for the new structure mimics the snowbanks that natural igloos attract over time.

Illustrations from FSC show two white wings, like a newly hatched eggshell, encasing the original structure, while leaving the igloo intact and its spire exposed.

Three more wings, which will hold seating on two floors, extend the structure into the middle of what is now the church's parking lot. A final wing on the back will provide more room behind the apse.

Inside, all seats, on the main floor and in the new balcony, will have an uninterrupted view into the apse, which will remain in the original structure.

A series of skylights in the new edition have been designed to "flood the church with light," McLean says.

The green Sailivik building east of the church, now boarded up, does not appear in plans for the new structure, as the committee hopes to finally tear it down to make space for parking, to meet municipal bylaws.

The City of Iqaluit will have a chance to officially approve the plans once a funding benchmark has been met, and the church can be sure they aren't wasting anyone's time.

Congregation members in Iqaluit have already seen plans for the building. Last year, they were presented with three options to choose from.

"The majority chose this one," McLean says, pointing to an illustration of the snowdrift concept, "and that's the one the executive committee chose too."

Local support for the project was a factor in the feasibility study.

"The people from Ketchum were impressed with the enthusiasm from the people of Iqaluit - they do consider it more than just a church."

Reverend Atagotaaluk is delighted with the project, and the community support that it demonstrates.

"In times when churches in southern Canada are closing their doors because of shrinking congregations, it is very exciting to know that we have to expand because current churches are too small for congregations," he wrote.

McLean says he would love to start building as soon as next summer, but that will depend on how fundraising goes.

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