St. Anne's Church marks a year since final service in 'gem of a building' lost to fire

One year ago, though he didn't know it at the time, Rev. Don Beyers led the final service ever held inside what is now one of Toronto's lost treasures. 

Beyers is parish priest at the historic St. Anne's Anglican Church, which was lost in a fire last June. 

On Sunday, Beyers will be leading service at the church's Parish Hall. And it was as he was preparing the leaflet for the service that he realized how hard it will be. 

"Sunday will be emotional for many of us and for myself included," he said in an interview. "I will feel sadness as we stand in front of the old church and look at the ruins."

This Sunday, to mark the anniversary of the final service in that building, his congregation will hold a short commemoration in front of its ruins.

"It's sort of like what you would do with a person if they died," Beyers said, describing it as a way to grieve together. "Sunday will be a chance, mainly, to honour the building, honour it for its service to us for all those years."

The commemoration following the regular service will include songs, prayers and a chance to lay flowers at the base of the ruins of the old church, which burned down on June 9.

The cause of the fire is still unknown nearly a year later. The Office of the Fire Marshal's investigation remains ongoing and a final report is yet to be completed, spokesperson Sean Driscoll said in an email. Toronto police said last year they didn't consider the fire suspicious.

The building, built between 1907 and 1908 in the city's Little Portugal neighbourhood, housed early works by members of the Group of Seven and was designated a national historic site for the "remarkable" cycle of paintings and sculptures that decorated its interior. One parishioner told CBC News after the fire last year it was like "being inside a jewel box."

Many of the pieces were lost in the fire. Those that were saved, though damaged, are being restored. Alicia Coutts, director of Toronto Art Restoration, said in an email that they have been successfully cleaned and work should be completed in the fall.

Beyers says next Sunday, one day before the anniversary of the fire, the church will turn its attention to what's been saved and what's still ahead.

"That Sunday is going to be a celebration of the next chapter of St. Anne's and will not be focused on grieving," he said. "We take serious this whole idea of new life, and so how do we embody that?"

Partly by planning to rebuild, Beyers says. The church has been holding talks with members of the congregation, neighbours in the community and groups affiliated with St. Anne's to discuss the design of a new church on the old site.

Beyers says a local architect has been involved for months now and he hopes early drawings will be ready by the summer.