By Will Pearson
Trudy Sailors can still vividly remember the day a bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada delivered the difficult news that her parish would be forced to abandon its cherished house of worship. Growing up right next door to St. Thomas’ Anglican Church during the 1960s, Sailors witnessed firsthand the vital role the sacred building played as an essential gathering place for the entire community.
Consecrated back in 1864, St. Thomas’ Anglican Church served generations of devoted worshippers within the Moose Cree First Nation community in Moose Factory, located near the southern shores of James Bay in remote northern Ontario. However, by 2006, the decades had taken a heavy toll on the structure, and the building had fallen into a severe state of disrepair. This deterioration ultimately forced the Anglican Diocese of Moosonee to order its official deconsecration and closure.
"It was sad," Sailors remembers, reflecting on the loss of the historic landmark where she was baptized—a site that later came to be affectionately and respectfully known by locals as Old St. Thomas. Ever since that closure nearly two decades ago, Sailors notes that the displaced Anglican congregation has had to gather in a nearby Catholic church, holding onto their faith while longing for a place of their own.
Moose Factory boasts a long and complex history deeply intertwined with the development of Canada. The community was originally founded on traditional Cree lands as an early trading post established by the Hudson’s Bay Company during the 1670s. For the vast majority of the region’s modern history, Anglicanism served as the primary form of Christianity practiced within the community, according to Cecil Chabot, who was born and raised in Moose Factory. Among its various historical operations, the church famously and controversially operated the Bishop Horden Hall residential school in Moose Factory until it finally closed its doors in 1976.
In the decades since, the spiritual landscape of the community has undergone significant shifts. Today, some local residents are actively shedding settler spiritual traditions in favour of resurgent Cree cultural and spiritual practices, while other members of the community have been drawn to newer evangelical denominations that have established a presence in the area.
Despite these shifting demographics and the passage of time, the community is refusing to give up on its historic church. These days, while only a dozen or so dedicated churchgoing Anglicans remain in Moose Factory, a ambitious and determined plan to fully restore and reopen Old St. Thomas as a vibrant, multi-use community centre has steadily gathered overwhelming local support over the past five years. This grassroots momentum is proving that even a congregation that is small in numbers and low on financial resources can still possess significant gifts, resilience, and a powerful vision to offer its neighbours.
As of this summer, financial contributions flowing in from dedicated community members, various charitable foundations, the Moose Cree First Nation, and other funding sources have successfully brought the ambitious preservation project about halfway toward its lofty $4 million fundraising goal. Organizers currently have their sights set on completing the renovation work and officially reopening the church by the summer of 2028.
The path toward restoration began back in 2020, when the Moose River Heritage and Hospitality Association (MRHHA) formally approached the diocese with a detailed proposal to rescue and restore the deteriorating church building. "Permission was granted, and from here the relationship evolved," explains Chabot, who now serves as the executive director of the MRHHA.
While the diocese ultimately decided to retain official ownership of the church property, a significant milestone was reached in 2023 when the church signed a formal co-management agreement with the MRHHA. This agreement effectively cedes operational control of the building to the non-profit organization, empowering the MRHHA to spearhead the complex restoration process and manage the facility once it finally reopens its doors to the public.
Once the extensive restoration work is completely finished, the local Anglican parish will once again be able to hold worship services inside the historic building. However, the revitalized space is designed to be much more than a traditional Sunday house of worship. The building will also host a wide variety of community events, with a primary institutional emphasis placed on developing "programming that strengthens families, culture, and language," according to the parameters outlined in the co-management agreement.
The broader restoration effort has succeeded in uniting local residents around a deeply rooted, shared sense of history, identity, and place. This shared connection transcends strict denominational boundaries and touches the core of the community’s collective memory.
"We all have buried loved ones here, so this is sacred ground for all of us," said Moose Cree First Nation Chief Peter Wesley in 2024, as he stood thoughtfully amidst the weathered markers of the church’s historic cemetery.
That profound sentiment and collective reverence for the past have helped propel the community centre project forward, pushing it remarkably close to a "shovel ready" stage of development, according to Chabot.
For her part, Trudy Sailors is eagerly looking forward to the day when the entire community can once again walk through the doors and make use of the historic church. Moose Factory residents are "going to be happy to be together in the building again," she says, smiling at the thought. "There’s going to be a lot of joy in being there."