Muslims, Christians unite at Knox

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This article was published 28/06/2019 (2647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A business deal involving Knox United Church allows Christians and Muslims to be good neighbours, literally.

Already an intercultural congregation, Knox United formalized its commitment to inter-religious co-operation by selling part of its Edmonton Street complex to a Muslim organization.

Earlier this week, Manitoba Islamic Association took possession of 406 Edmonton St., the three-storey, 2,200-square-metre property attached to Manitoba’s largest United Church building at 400 Edmonton St., directly across from Central Park.

“We are now owners of the building which is connected to the church,” association president Idris Elbakri said. He describes the new relationship as conjoined.

“We want to preserve that this is a place that stands for spirituality and it is a place where people can come for worship and reflection and help.”

Knox United Church retains ownership of the imposing Gothic Revival style limestone church at the corner of Qu’Appelle Avenue and Edmonton Street.

Originally called Knox International Centre, the neighbouring building at 406 Edmonton was constructed on the church’s former parking lot north of the church 40 years ago.

Under the association’s ownership, the second floor of 406 Edmonton will house mental health services and poverty-relief programs as well as a prayer space for as many as 200 people, Elbakri said.

The organization plans to renovate the second floor this summer and move in by September.

The association runs community programs and events from its mosques in St. Vital and south Waverley, but had been searching for a downtown location when a mutual acquaintance introduced Elbakri to former Knox minister Bill Millar about three years ago.

“For some time we have wanted to have a presence here (downtown) and try to provide services for the community,” said Elbakri, who volunteered as an English-language instructor at the International Centre when he first moved to Winnipeg in 2005.

Knox Day Nursery Inc. remains a tenant on the first floor, and a child welfare agency continues to rent the third floor.

The association will move into the second floor and manage the building, including 33 stalls in an underground parking garage.

The church decided to sell after the provincial government bought out the remainder of its 35-year lease at 406 Edmonton and vacated the premises about a year ago, said Lori Stewart, co-chair of the Knox board.

‘We want to preserve that this is a place that stands for spirituality and it is a place where people can come for worship and reflection and help’– Manitoba Islamic Association president Idris Elbakri

The small congregation of about 80 could not afford to run both their century-old heritage church and the adjacent building, so it searched for a group interested in providing services to the thousands of people living near Central Park.

“We think their vision of how they want to use the building goes hand in hand with what Knox is doing in the neighbourhood,” Stewart said of the Islamic association.

“We might well be able to do joint programming together and also demonstrate good relations with Christians and Muslims.”

She said the purchase price was significantly less than the $2-million commercial value of the building, saying the low-five-figure deal is more a gift than a sale.

“We’re basically giving the building away,” Stewart said. “We didn’t want a commercial company coming in and doing something outside of the vision that was intended.”

Under the purchase agreement, the association will share a common accessible entrance on Edmonton Street with Knox United Church and its many community tenants, as well as the elevator to three levels in both the church and commercial space.

“It’s certainly the space that needs the greatest work,” Rev. Lesley Harrison said about the atrium between the heritage church and the newer building.

But it also provides opportunity to get to know each other and figure out how to work together, she said.

“In the middle ground, we hope to engage one another, explore with one another this visionary endeavour, and expand in the future,” Harrison said.

Just days into ownership, the Islamic association is still adjusting to the new role of landlord as well as working next door to a Christian church, Elbakri said.

“Although having these two buildings tied together complicates things logistically, I hope it will push people out of their comfort zones and learn how to be good neighbours,” he said.

That was always the hope of the people of the former Knox Presbyterian Church when it moved into the grand cathedral-style church with its prominent tower and spires in 1917, said Millar, minister from 2004 to 2018.

Designed by prominent Winnipeg architect J.H.G. Russell, the building’s 1,200-seat auditorium features tall windows, arched ceilings, walnut trim and no permanent religious imagery, making it possible to be used by other religious traditions.

“It was built to be a place that was more than a church,” Millar said of the sprawling complex at 400 Edmonton, which has a footprint of about 1,400 square metres and includes a gym, commercial kitchen and several meeting rooms.

“It had the intention of being a social centre.”

Now, that social centre includes a permanent connection between the multicultural congregation at Knox United Church and the estimated 20,000 Muslims living in Winnipeg.

“We hope to complement each other,” Elbakri said of the relationship between the church and the association. “We made this arrangement, we hope to be here for a long time and we hope to contribute to the city.”

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