Upgrades for St. Bride's church MALLARY MCGRATH The Charter

Sacred Heart Parish in St. Bride's has been undergoing renovations to the interior and exterior of the building.

The church in St. Bride's, Sacred Heart Parish, has been getting renovations on both on the interior and exterior of the building. In 2004, the community formed the St. Bride's Church Repair Committee, and the members have been working hard ever since to keep their church up to date. With this church being one of only four located on the Cape Shore, its upkeep is not only a large part of the community but the heritage of the area as well.

Committee member Isabella Conway feels that keeping the community's church in good condition is vital.

"It is very important because who doesn't want to see their church looking good?" She says. "I am very proud to be a part of the renovations and upgrades."

The six members of the committee have accomplished an immense amount through their fundraising efforts and relentless will to keep their church looking beautiful.

Over this past five years they have been able to supply the church with a new roof, new windows, better lighting, flooring, paint, kitchen facilities, a bathroom, new doors, new steps, and their latest upgrade; new siding for the church's exterior.

"The last time the church had updating was about fifteen years ago when Father Peter was here in the Parish," Explains Isabella. "Through our card games on Tuesday nights and the second collection weekly in mass, we have been able to do this. The committee is also very proud to report that we are debt free! The community has been backing us on this project 100% since day one. It is a great thing to be a part of."

The committee members: Isabella Conway, Henry Careen, Billy Rielly, Darren Greene, Anne White and Maude White have been striving to ensure that things get done and while they have accomplished a lot to date, they still have more plans in sight.

"We would like to get sofas for the wake room at the church. We also want do the floor behind the altar and get some more paint for inside. Someday we also want to add the stained glass to the windows," Says Isabella who has personally helped with the renovation work.

"As a committee, we would like to thank Darlene Lundrigan and Florence Dohey-Power who in the beginning helped us out a great deal. They took care of the financial part but unfortunately could not stay with us due to work commitments. They were certainly a great help as was the entire the community. A big thank you goes to the people of St. Bride's who made it all possible."