SYDNEY, N.S. — A Sydney non-profit group is scrambling to replace the potential loss of thousands of dollars in revenue with the announced delay in the start of this year’s cruise ship season.
Sydney was listed a receiving 118 cruise ships this year between April 28 and Oct. 10.
However, the COVID-19 global pandemic has delayed the start of the season until July after the federal government announced the closure of Canadian ports to such vessels until the end of June.
For people like Michelle Gardiner, who oversees summer operations at St. George’s Church in Sydney, the delay means there will be no repairs this year to the 235-year-old stone building as all donations raised will go toward keeping the heat on.
Gardiner said throughout the season her group would earn some $25,000 in donations from visiting cruise ship passengers and crew. The church stands a stone’s throw from the docking pier for the ships and is a popular site for visitors on walking tours in downtown Sydney.
“The cruise ship industry is main source of our income so now we have to come up with ways to replace that,” said Gardiner.
The church is the oldest standing structure on Cape Breton Island. It is the property of the Anglican Parish of the Resurrection.
Gardiner said for many passengers and crew, the church provides a space for people to have some spiritual time while away from home.
During the time of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Gardiner said the church was filled on cruise ship days with American passengers simply wanting a quiet place to contemplate and pray.
She said Rev. Laurie Ramsey came to the church for three days to help counsel those feeling loss and despair at what was happening back home.
More recently, Gardiner has taken to posting pictures and videos of the church online in a bid to continue raising the profile of the facility. The items can be found on the church’s Twitter and Facebook page.
She said given that the church has already withstood famines, world wars, other epidemics and economic collapses, she hopes this latest set-back is simply just a set-back and not an omen for the future.
“We do have some money in the bank but restorations will have to be put off for this year in favour of heat,” she said.
Gardiner said she is forever grateful to the volunteers at the facility, particularly Anne Lewis of Sydney and Jimmy MacNeil of Glace Bay, for their dedication and hard work at keeping the doors open.
Donations, she said, can be sent to St. George’s Heritage Committee, Box 801, Sydney, NS, B1P 1TO. A tax receipt will be issued.
