A former United Church may become London’s newest mosque.
The former Hyatt United Church on Hamilton Road has been bought by the Egyptian Community Centre of Ontario in North York, which is planning on using it as a place of worship and a school.
“I am delighted it will remain as a place of worship. I believe we only have one God ….. some see it as the Prophet Mohammed and others as Jesus,” said Rev. Richard Golden, of Melbourne United Church, who is also chairperson of the United Church’s Middlesex Prebytery.
“I am happy.”
The centre bought the old church for $110,000 in August, 2015, and has launched a website — eccoo.ca — in an attempt to raise money to renovate and convert the building into the Hyatt Centre and Mosque.
“We have plans for establishing a mosque and a Sunday school in the new section of this centre. The old section built in 1907 has an antique beautiful sanctuary that will be preserved as is, to be used for lectures, seminars and community meetings,” stated a notice on the website.
“The property will be restored to its old glory after being neglected for many years. The exteriors will be restored with no alterations. The centre will also help the poor and the needy in the EOA (east of Adelaide) community.”
The stately red brick church, on Hamilton Rd. between Adelaide and Egerton streets, “had become vacant” due to declining attendance and was too costly to maintain — and has little parking, said Golden.
“It was cost and it was people, and we just could not care for the church,” he said.
As for the Egyptian council, it declined to provide details about the purchase.
“It is too early to talk at this point. We will be in touch once the restoration work of this beautiful church is completed,” read an email from the council, following interview requests.
The London Muslim Mosque was approached by the council after the church was purchased but told the group there is no need for additional prayer space in the city, said Imam Abd Alfatah Twakkal.
“We know of it but we are not affiliated with it. The individuals approached the various Muslim organizations in the city with their proposal. We feel like there is not a need in our city” for another mosque, he said.
There are now two major mosques in London and several other, smaller prayer spaces. A third large mosque is planned at Southdale and Wonderland roads, he added.
According to the 2011 census, about 9,000 Londoners are Arab.
In an ironic twist, the United Church is using $50,000 from the sale to sponsor refugees from Islamic Syria, said Golden.
“We are using the money to help others in the area, other United Churches, and we are also bringing in Syrian refugees here,” he said,
The ECCOO was looking to open a mosque in Toronto as a philanthropic gesture but could not buy into that market, and came to London because of its large Muslim population, said the imam.
“We thanked them for their sincerity and efforts but it may have been better for them to consult with us before they bought the church.”
Published on: The London Free Press > Original Link: https://lfpress.com/2016/09/29/former-london-church-set-to-become-mosque-and-school