Steeple cut off church
A small town in Newfoundland is reeling after someone cut the steeple off a church the town's council had decided Tuesday night couldn't be demolished. Stephen Sharpe, president of The Church By the Sea, a group that wants to save the deconsecrated St. Philip's Anglican Church in Portugal Cove from demolition, said he thought he was dreaming Wednesday morning when he received a phone call about the apparent vandalism.
"I couldn't believe it," he told QMI Agency. "Last night, we were extremely happy."
He said he went to the parking lot where other church members had gathered.
He said people were visibly upset by the destruction. He also said the cross, which has topped the steeple since 1894, was missing.
Const. Suzanne Fitzgerald of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said a witness who saw the steeple on the ground Wednesday morning called police to the scene, but officers can't investigate because there's no official complaint.
"The rightful owner of that property has not formally lodged a complaint," Fitzgerald said. "We can't investigate something that hasn't been reported."
There has been controversy surrounding St. Philip's Church for more than a year now, Sharpe says. His group wants to save the church and use it as a local museum, while church officials have said previously they can't afford to keep both the 1894 church and a new one, built about six years ago.
On Tuesday night during a Portugal Cove St. Philip's council meeting, councillors voted 6-1 to deny a demolition permit.
Tempers flared at the meeting between those who want to save the church and those who want to see it demolished.
Sharpe said it's "four or five strong voices from the parish" who want to see the old church torn down. But he says that's not the will of the congregation or the community.
"We had a petition, it was only out less than two weeks...we had over 600 signatures," he said.
The town council had called an emergency meeting for 3 p.m. Wednesday. No one from council was available for comment before the meeting.
Messages and e-mails sent to Rev. Edward Keeping weren't immediately returned.
Sharpe said even now, his group would still be willing to take over the church and it wouldn't cost the church any money.
"We believe we can still maintain and keep that church," he said, adding they might need extra money now to fix the steeple.
But he says it's important the church remains standing.
"That church was the centre of the community," he said.
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