Everything must go as a crew clears 19th century church to make way for shelter spaces

As wintry weather descends on the London region, a small team of contractors is hard at work helping to repurpose a historic church into respite from the cold for London's unhoused.

While the Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church at 442 William St. hasn’t been used for worship for more than a decade, it is now being turned into shelter space run by Ark Aid. That means furniture, equipment and other fixtures to be taken out, and construction crew intends on finding a home for every bit of it.

“We’re taking anything of value that’s left that we can either save or find a new home for,” said Brett Belcher, whose company Clean Slate Inc. was contracted by the Diocese of Huron to gut the church and recycle as much as they can.

The church’s original opening dates back to 1873. It’s named after Benjamin Cronyn, the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron, and the founder of Huron University College.

Since it was closed in 2015, the Aeolian Hall used the space for several years for a children's music program. More recently, the Ark Aid Mission has signed a lease with the Diocese to rent the church.

Ark Aid hopes to use the space to expand its adjacent Cronyn-Warner location, which is on the same property and currently holds about 70 beds.

But before that can happen, dozens of things from pews and chairs to pulpits and stained glass, need a new home.

Among the most abundant of those items are the solid wood church pews which, despite their size and weight, haven't been hard to sell.

“Another church has actually purchased [many of] them from us … They’re getting a second lease on life where someone else can enjoy worship time with [them],” Belcher said.

“We also have a photographer who is taking pews and using them for different events. It’s really nice to see [the use] people can actually get out of them, instead of just going to local landfills.”

Belcher said he’s found buyers for most of the items on online platforms such as Facebook Marketplace. He’s been shocked by how quickly people are snatching everything up.

“People want a piece of London history, and it’s nice to see it go back into the community,” Belcher said.

Meanwhile, in a crammed room at the rear of the church, dozens of organ pipes made from stamped lead are being removed one-by-one.

Unfortunately, Belcher said, those can’t be repurposed as they are. Although there’s not exactly a big market for spare organ parts, they won’t go to waste, and will be recycled as scrap instead.