About a year ago in the summer of 2025, the parish of St. James in Perth had a big problem. The rectory, built in 1875 and one of only five in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa still in use by parish incumbents, was in need of major repair work. The kitchen needed to be insulated. Splintering floor boards needed to be replaced, and there was an infestation of mice.
It all needed to be fixed before the newly hired incumbent, the Rev. Robert Camara, who was moving to Perth from Montreal with his partner in December, could live in the house.
The parish considered selling or demolishing the house, but it had a heritage designation, so that limited their choices. They decided to do the renovations, which were expected to cost $100,000.
Fortunately, parishioners Ray and Elaine Hook stepped up to the challenge of raising funds as a labour of love and a way of thanking the people in the parish who cared for them when Elaine was seriously injured in a car accident. They donated $10,000 to get the fund started and used $5,000 to match donations over $100.
Parishioner Christine Erdos is a designer who offered to redesign the kitchen as a donation to the church.
At first, the Hooks hoped to raise $25,000, but as Ray kept the congregation updated on their efforts, donations kept coming, and they set new targets of $50,000 amd then $75,000. Eventually, they had raised $102,500 through donations that mostly came from within the congregation. “Our donors collectively from the church family. have just amazed us with their generosity and their support,” said Ray, adding that they are working on creating plaque with all of the donor names (aside from those who want to remain anonymous) that will be placed on a wall in the rectory.
The Rev. Robert Camara added that he and his partner were very grateful for the beautiful renovation work that has made the rectory so much more comfortable and for the warm welcome from the parish.
Saint Bede’s, Nolan’s Corners — Lanark Deanery