Zion United Church. Photo Ed Halverson

Liverpool’s Zion United Church is back on the market.

A deal that had been in place to sell to Stephanie Sereda fell through when closing conditions couldn’t be met.

Chair of the church’s closure working group Ray Baker explains.

“It was on the very last possible day, the last few hours and they had to withdraw their offer in that their financial conditions failed them,” said Baker. “Up until then they’d indicated that that wasn’t a problem but apparently it turned out to be, so that was unfortunate.”

Sereda says she and her husband did everything they could to make it work.

But after doing due diligence they discovered renovations and operational costs for the church greatly exceeded initial projections.

Baker says they’ve already had a couple of offers since the for sale sign was placed on the lawn but haven’t yet sealed a deal.

The congregation were excited about Sereda’s plans to convert the church into a cultural centre and year-round maker’s market.

Baker says they would love to find another buyer who would put the building to public use.

“If the community came up with a plan where it was going to become some type of a community centre, a library or something, we’d probably be interested in doing a deal to keep the old church as a viable option within the community. But that hasn’t happened yet but we’ve got our fingers crossed,” said Baker.

One of the obstacles to selling was the cemetery located behind Zion United Church.

But Baker says a society has been established that will use the perpetual care fund and ongoing maintenance fees to keep up not just the cemetery adjacent to the church but two other cemeteries in Liverpool for which the United Church is responsible.

Baker says the church is in a good location, has a great working kitchen and is structurally sound thanks to the recently installed roof.

He’s optimistic a new buyer will emerge soon and the Zion United Church will continue to serve the people of Liverpool.

“We have hope that over the coming months, if not weeks we get another offer that meets that end.”

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Zion United Church. Photo Ed Halverson

The Zion United Church in Liverpool is a step closer to finding a new owner.

Chair of the church’s closure working group Ray Baker says after discussing it amongst themselves, the group brought Stephanie Sereda’s bid to the whole congregation for consideration.

Baker says the Zion congregation liked what they heard.

“It had people smiling and nodding their heads,” said Baker. “She talked about it, from her perspective, it not being just a business, but it was a passion project.”

Sereda plans to convert the church into a cultural centre, operating the lower level as a year-round maker’s market where artisans can showcase and sell their work.

She sees the upper level being used as a cultural and event space.

The congregation was also impressed with Sereda’s intentions to preserve the history of Zion United church, from the stained glass in the windows to asking if the church would be willing to loan church artifacts to be displayed for visitors.

“Keeping in mind it’s a sad and emotional time for the congregation, but to know that the transition would be something where they continue to see the church benefit the community as a whole is just amazing,” said Baker.

The congregation’s recommendation to sell Zion United to Sereda now goes to the United Church of Canada Regional Council 15 office for approval.

Baker says if permission is granted in a reasonable amount of time the church could be in new hands by May.

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Zion United Church. Photo Ed Halverson

Zion United Church in Liverpool has another potential buyer.

Stephanie Sereda hopes to transform the church into a year-round makers market and event space.

Sereda and her husband moved from Ontario to make Western Head their home in the fall.

She says the opportunity to take a decommissioned church into a community and cultural space is a dream come true.

“A big part of it was also things we would do for the community,” said Sereda. “Because I’m an events planner by nature I like to create opportunities for people to connect and engage.”

Sereda sees the church as a place where anything is possible.

“I think the part that appeals to me the most is it’s a flagship building in our community. It’s been around since the 1800s, it tells a story and I’d like to preserve as much of that story as possible in what we’re going to do with it.”

Sereda joins Xaver Varnus as the two potential suiters looking at the church, at this point.

Varnus wishes to move the pipe organ from Varnus Hall in Brooklyn, established in the former Pilgrim United Church, to the Zion United Church.

Moving the venue would allow him to increase capacity to 300 audience members.

The Zion United Church will be listed this week and all offers will be reviewed by the closure working group headed up by Ray Baker.

Baker says the working group will then present the offers to the congregation to vote on who will get to purchase the church.

“It’s not necessarily the offer that comes in with the greatest monetary value,” said Baker. “That is an important factor but more important is also what the future use of the church would be. We’d like it to continue to be an area where we support the community.”

Baker is pleased both expressions of interest in the church are community focussed, but says any recommendation made by the congregation about the sale will need to be approved by Regional Council 15 of the United Church in Halifax.

“If we have a good offer financially, and a good reason for selecting a particular buyer I’m pretty confident that they will approve it.”

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Entrance to Zion United Church in Liverpool. Photo Ed Halverson

A Liverpool church that boasts the oldest established congregation in Queens is being sold.

The Zion United Church closed its doors in December according to chair of the closure working group* Ray Baker.

He says the congregation is getting older and their numbers are decreasing.

“Unfortunately, it’s a sign of the times, we’re not having a lot of younger families become members of the church,” said Baker. “So, it’s more difficult to operate it and find the funds to run it.”

Baker says the with fewer than 40 active members in the church it is no longer possible to pay the bills and upkeep on the 150-year-old building.

Complicating matters further, Baker says their minister retired in June at the same time the church board chair resigned, effectively leaving the congregation without leadership to help guide them through the ever-changing COVID regulations.

At a special meeting October 24, the congregation made the decision to sell and the last service at the church was held in December.

Zion United Church. Photo Ed Halverson

Director of the Queens County Museum Linda Rafuse says the Zion United church was formed from congregations that date back to the 1700s, making it historically significant.

The first chapel was built by some of the founding fathers of Liverpool including merchant Simeon Perkins who is buried in the cemetery behind Zion United.

The current church was built in 1866 after a fire destroyed the second chapel the previous year.

Rafuse says the church has already approached the museum about donating several artifacts.

“It will be a loss to the history of Liverpool but we’re here to preserve those memories,” said Rafuse.

Baker says a working group comprised of himself and several church elders have received several options for closing down the church from the United Church regional office.

He says there is a distinction to be made between the church and its people.

“The congregation is the people,” said Baker.  “And the building is just that, the building.”

Baker says there’s a strong desire within the congregation to stick together.

Some of the options are to continue as a congregation and share space in another church or disband and join other congregations.

Selling the church will be further complicated by the fact it is responsible for the upkeep of three cemeteries.

Cemetery behind Zion United Church. Photo Ed Halverson

Baker says the working group is in discussions with United church officials and the municipality to determine what options are available for dividing the cemeteries from the church while ensuring the graveyards continue to be maintained.

“We can’t sell the church with the cemetery. I mean, what buyer would want the building, for whatever purpose but also have a cemetery to look after,” said Baker.

A meeting will be held February 12 where the congregation will be presented with their options and decide on how to proceed.

*A previous version of this story mis-identified the closure working group as a disbanding committee. The story has been updated with the correction.

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