Oct. 4, 2009 - Avon, Ontario
Cathy Hubbard lives in a church: a quaint, antique-filled stone dwelling that’s not a parsonage, and not an official church office. It’s simply Cathy’s home, a restful, two-story edifice built in 1890 that she discovered while searching online for a place to live.
Her church home (literally) is nestled between a few houses and farmland in the small Canadian hamlet of Avon, about three hours north of Detroit, Mich. There are only about 30 families in Avon, and it’s not unusual to share the roadway with a Mennonite farmer driving a horse-drawn buggy.
Lots of signs point to the fact that Cathy’s home was once a place of worship. The flat screen television (in what was evidently the sanctuary and which is now the family room) sits on a raised platform. Cathy surmises the platform was once the site of the church pipe organ. A few steps up from the first floor and you’re in the bathroom, where there is an unexpected sunken tub, probably retrofitted from the days when this was likely the baptistry area.
But Cathy, who has served as regional minister in Canada for about three years, cheerily navigates her way up and down the floors of her home, closely followed by her two Brussels Griffon dogs, Zoe and Neo. She moves quickly between the many parts of her rented house, from her downstairs office to her remodeled kitchen, then upstairs - dogs trailing - to her library, family room and bedroom areas.
There are some obvious drawbacks to living in a 119-year old structure. The house can get pretty drafty, and heating bills aren’t cheap. Cathy’s beloved husband, Walter, passed away earlier this year after only living in the house for about five months, so now Cathy resides there alone. Periodically, she must wonder what stories are to be told about the former United Methodist church she lives in, which some years ago merged with the United Church of Canada. But the congregation closed as house of worship about 10 years ago. Today the building is owned by a private family.
But there are joys too. The house is more than large enough to hold all of Cathy’s antiques and books, and she takes delight in having the space to plant a garden on the property and room for her dogs to run and play both inside and out. The neighbors are friendly and are always around to do such things as clear snow from the front steps in the winter. The house also provides lots of space to meet with pastors or other church people and is a great place to entertain guests.
“When you decide to live in a space like this, you kind of agree there will be certain idiosyncrasies about the building that you are willing to live with,” said Hubbard. “The building has a life of its own- you can really feel the history living here and that’s pretty amazing.”
Cathy Hubbard lives in a church: a quaint, antique-filled stone dwelling that’s not a parsonage, and not an official church office. It’s simply Cathy’s home, a restful, two-story edifice built in 1890 that she discovered while searching online for a place to live.
Her church home (literally) is nestled between a few houses and farmland in the small Canadian hamlet of Avon, about three hours north of Detroit, Mich. There are only about 30 families in Avon, and it’s not unusual to share the roadway with a Mennonite farmer driving a horse-drawn buggy.
Lots of signs point to the fact that Cathy’s home was once a place of worship. The flat screen television (in what was evidently the sanctuary and which is now the family room) sits on a raised platform. Cathy surmises the platform was once the site of the church pipe organ. A few steps up from the first floor and you’re in the bathroom, where there is an unexpected sunken tub, probably retrofitted from the days when this was likely the baptistry area.
But Cathy, who has served as regional minister in Canada for about three years, cheerily navigates her way up and down the floors of her home, closely followed by her two Brussels Griffon dogs, Zoe and Neo. She moves quickly between the many parts of her rented house, from her downstairs office to her remodeled kitchen, then upstairs - dogs trailing - to her library, family room and bedroom areas.
There are some obvious drawbacks to living in a 119-year old structure. The house can get pretty drafty, and heating bills aren’t cheap. Cathy’s beloved husband, Walter, passed away earlier this year after only living in the house for about five months, so now Cathy resides there alone. Periodically, she must wonder what stories are to be told about the former United Methodist church she lives in, which some years ago merged with the United Church of Canada. But the congregation closed as house of worship about 10 years ago. Today the building is owned by a private family.
But there are joys too. The house is more than large enough to hold all of Cathy’s antiques and books, and she takes delight in having the space to plant a garden on the property and room for her dogs to run and play both inside and out. The neighbors are friendly and are always around to do such things as clear snow from the front steps in the winter. The house also provides lots of space to meet with pastors or other church people and is a great place to entertain guests.
“When you decide to live in a space like this, you kind of agree there will be certain idiosyncrasies about the building that you are willing to live with,” said Hubbard. “The building has a life of its own- you can really feel the history living here and that’s pretty amazing.”
