Home | Save Our Churches As

Who We Are

An association of concerned parishioners from St. Patrick's, St. Basil's and Our Lady of the Assumption Churches in Lethbridge Alberta who are opposed to the sale of our present churches in order to build one large new church

Purpose:

To oppose the shuttering of St. Patrick's Church and the sale and closure of St. Basil's and Our Lady of the Assumption Churches.

Beliefs:

That our three existing churches comprising All Saints Parish are adequate to meet our present needs and the needs of our parish for the foreseeable future.
That our three churches have suffered from a lack of adequate maintenance and repair and deserve to be maintained in fitting with places of worship.
That all parishioners have a right to be heard and to decide on a decision of this magnitude.
That the building of a new church in the amount of $21 million dollars is not sustainable, as evidenced by the limited and stalled fundraising efforts to date, and needs to be considered a long-term project.
That building a new church will not lessen the burden on our clergy as he/they will still have the same number of parishioners to serve.

Our Beginnings

The Save Our Churches Association had its origins in July, 2006. St. Basil's Church. Our Lady of the Assumption Church, and St. Patrick's Church had just been merged to form a new Church, named All Saints. A short 3 months later Parish Council put forward a proposal " ... that the best way to build one, strong, spiritually vibrant community is to have All Saints Parish under one roof". Many parishioners felt blindsided by this move, as it was done with limited consultation of those they represented. Despite hearing significant and sustained opposition, Parish Council pushed forward with their plan, and in February 2007 recommended to Bishop Henry that a new church be built.

Planning committees were formed and information meetings were held, inviting parishioners to advise what they wanted in the design of their new church. Fully half of all parishioners remained strongly opposed to the sale of their existing churches and the building of a new mega church. Their pleas ignored, petitions began to surface, all the while land was obtained on the outskirts of the city and a fundraising campaign was initiated.

At a meeting of the Parish in November of 2008 attended by over 200 people, 25 of 26 submissions opposing the plan for a new church were heard. With no move by Priest and Council to put planning on hold, a group of concerned parishioners met as an Ad Hoc committee. It was this group that became the forerunner of Save Our Churches Association. Bishop Henry's decision to close St. Patrick's Church in August, 2011, directly led to the forming of the Save Our Churches Association (SOCA) on June 25, 2011. Since that time, SOCA has relentlessly challenged the status quo of the Church at all levels and with all means granted them by Church Canon Law.. By holding our leaders accountable and fighting for solutions, SOCA has given the parishioners of All Saints a voice and the courage to right a wrong and to stand up to clericalism in the church.