-ahead of demolition exercise
THE PARISH of the St Barnabas Church, a monumental Georgetown landmark and an integral part of the very character of the City was on Sunday officially deconsecrated following careful deliberations by the Authorities. According to the venerable Oscar Bazil, the old structure has been declared unsafe to be left standing, and as such no other choice was left them than to remove the building without delay as it is seen as a threat to society.
“Although we had been told by the experts and trusted advisors that it would have to be demolished, we found it hard to accept the verdict, and continued to hope against hope that the situation might not be that bad,” the Bishop said in a letter.
Due to the Church’s dire financial straits, however, they regrettably came to terms with the fact that it had to go.
Parishioners are, however, still holding strong to the many promises they were made that come what may, there will still be a place of worship for them, and ideas are reportedly being mulled about having a new church with a modern design that is more economical to maintain.
The restoration cost of the building was estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The St Barnabas church is situated next to two other significant landmarks in the Bourda District, namely the Bourda Cemetery and the Bourda Market.