By Engy Magdy
Many churches in Canada are closing their doors because of declining finances amid low numbers of worshipers. But Michael Haddad, an immigrant Catholic from Egypt, recently put up more than $300,000 to keep open the United Church in Hensall, Ontario, for its older worshippers.
Last year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John announced plans to close several of its churches and merge parishes to contain costs and revitalize church attendance. Even some historical buildings affiliated to traditional Christian churches are being torn down.
Haddad, who immigrated to Canada with his wife, Asteir Hanna, in 1995, finds it hurts him as a faithful Christian to see any Christian church being closed, he told The Tablet in a phone call.
However, this is not the only reason for his concern. His pharmacy is in Hensall, only a few meters from the church and he found that most of its worshippers are old and can’t drive to another church, so his move was a help to his neighbors.
“I live in London, 55 kilometers from Hensall where I work for six days a week. I know almost all the people and I’m very close to them, so I found it’s my duty to help,” said Haddad. “People in Canada raised their eyebrows at my move, but I told them it’s a disaster for someone from the Middle East to find any church of Christ being closed. If something like this happened in Egypt, you will find a flood of donors to save it.”
Hensall is a small community with a population of hardly more than 1,000. Hensall United Church, a 131-year-old Protestant church, is the only church there. Atheism is one of main reasons behind the phenomenon of closing the churches in Canada, said Haddad.
However, the churches of Middle Eastern immigrant communities don’t face this problem. “Churches of immigrant communities like the Coptic and Lebanese, Syrian churches are very strong, and it’s the same situation for mosques . People of the Middle East are more religious, so they pay a lot for houses of worship,” Haddad claimed.
“My move encouraged lots of people to come and attend the services”, he said.
Haddad dreams of widening his initiative to become a nation-wide campaign for buying those churches which are going to be closed. However, it’s not about money only but also people who can take care for the ministry and have time to work hard for church growth.
Canadians respect humanity regardless of religious, ethnic or gender, so most of their donations go to humanitarian, medical, and educational services. They donate generously to cancer hospitals and medical research, Haddad said. “This is great, but on the other hand that means it’s hard to find lots of people who want to donate for a church.”
The Hensall church will be reopened next April after renovations. Haddad, who has a 20-year-old son named Andrew, 20 years old, is planning for different activities for youth to attract more followers to the church.
“There is a big hall and wide place for youth to come and play football, ping-pong, watch movies and video games any time,” he said.
The Haddad family will celebrate the reopening by inviting people from different communities in London where they his wife, Ester, has a pharmacy.