The process behinde the proposed Sanctuary Upgrade

Since the spring of 2020 - when Corona hit the world and Toronto - a working group has been involved in the project of upgrading the Sanctuary of the Danish Lutheran Chruch in Toronto.
The renovation of the sanctuary is needed after almost 60 years of use. The church was built in 1964-1965 and has a unique Nordic touch and architecture that we want to strengthen in lighting, furniture, and new art.

From November 2020 we have shown the first version of artists’ drawings of the proposed upgrade and asked for the congregation's opinions. We have had a very good response to this request for comments and concerns.

Read the summary of the many comments here (PDF file)

The board appreciate that the majority of your replies have been very favourable for this project, but that is not to say that we did not receive any negative comments – they were there as well. This is a very important and expensive project for our church. We wanted your understanding of the situation we were facing, and your honest comments and thoughts on this plan. And that is what we got – thank you.

On Wednesday, March 17 2021 the board did invite to a meeting on zoom on the project. 30 people attended and shared comments, concerns and ideas.

We were given a rough estimate of about $200,000 for this project, but that total can change very quickly depending on our final plans. The board feels that since the church has been very lucky to receive significant estate and special gifts in the past year, we can afford this capital one-time cost to give the 55 year old sanctuary a much-needed facelift, among other benefits derived from this upgrade. The latest status on this project and answers to any related questions will be addressed.

But we also need support to make it happen. Read here how you can support the project.

The final step of this upgrade was formal approved at the AGM April 24, 2021.

The project group and board have worked long and hard on this plan. We feel we have found the best answer to many of our current needs regarding this upgrade. Plan to join us that evening, and we look forward to your support for the best outcome for this church.

The working group

The working group was appointed among the members of the church board: Sune Overgaard, Gerda Andersen, John Uffe, Johannes Petersen and Pastor Simon Kangas Larsen.

They have got important support from James Bailey and Albena Bakalov from James Bailey Architect in Toronto and Arne Nordtorp from Torp Inc in Toronto.