Winnipeg churches raise walls to keep out crime Places of worship fight break-ins, vandalism, violence By: Tyler Searle Posted: 7:15 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024

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This article was published 29/10/2024 (710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One church installed an eight-foot fence topped with barbed wire, while others spent thousands to repair damage from thieves and vandals — a new reality for some places of worship located in crime-infested areas of the city.

While some churches in Winnipeg’s core remain resolute in the face of recent break-ins, vandalism and violence, others have been pushed to the brink.

“The vandalism — we experience this all the time,” Ahmed Jibo, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church, said Tuesday. “They break in the back door, they break car windows again and again. People are not comfortable coming to the church because they do not feel safe.

“It is a huge impact.”

As Pilgrim Baptist celebrated its 100th anniversary Saturday, Jibo arrived to find the church, on the corner of Maple Street and MacDonald Avenue, smeared with feces. Before that, the building’s new air conditioning unit was destroyed by vandals seeking to dismantle it for copper; within 24 hours of replacing it, the unit was damaged again, he said.

Such incidents have become “normal” in Point Douglas, the pastor said.

After countless break-ins — including an instance where five car windows were smashed during Sunday service — the church has considered selling the building and relocating elsewhere in the city. The size of its congregation (around 50 people) and its limited financial means make it impossible to do so, Jibo said.

Instead, the congregation has turned to outreach to build connections within the surrounding community. Each month they distribute free coffee and socks in the hopes people will view the church as a place to be preserved, not pillaged, he said.

“They break in the back door, they break car windows again and again. People are not comfortable coming to the church because they do not feel safe.”–Ahmed Jibo, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church

A block away, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, an eight-foot tall fence topped with barbed wire has been erected to keep criminals at bay.

The Catholic church, which is also home to the Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society, recently received a grant from the Winnipeg Foundation allowing it to boost security measures. Along with the fence, it used to the money to install a surveillance system and upgraded lighting last month, said parish council member Stephanie Casar.

“It’s not exactly the most welcoming thing to look at, but it was our reality to try and prevent some of the vandalism that was occurring,” said Casar. “It’s unfortunate these are the measures we have had to take … but we felt, as a parish, that we didn’t have a choice.”

The area surrounding the churches saw its crime rate rise by 61 per cent between March of 2023 and March of 2024, ranking it among the most dangerous areas of the city, according to the latest available Winnipeg Police Service data.

Lady of Lourdes, now more than 60 years old, has previously hired private security to escort people to and from their cars when it hosts special events. Concerns about crime are driving some away from the church, Casar said.

“That’s kind of our reality these days. It used to be standing room only at certain holiday seasons. Now, unfortunately, everybody can fit their butts in the pews,” Casar said.

In the West End, City Church Pastor Tim Nielsen said his community is keeping faith in the face of rising challenges.

The church spent $8,000 last summer repairing damage to its front steps after a person smashed the concrete with a rock. Two years prior, somebody stole the brass handles off the front door.

“That’s the reality of being in the neighbourhood, but it’s not a reflection of everyone … the vast majority are good people.”–Tim Nielsen, City Church Pastor

Data show the area surrounding City Church has a crime rate slightly lower than the area near Lady of Lourdes and Pilgrim Baptist.

“That’s the reality of being in the neighbourhood, but it’s not a reflection of everyone … the vast majority are good people, it’s just a few that create the problems and our view is that it would be wrong to move out,” he said.

Nielsen said he’s noticed a spike in incidents in recent years, as methamphetamine and fentanyl have taken hold on city streets.

“As far as the local church is concerned, just make sure you never become embittered toward what’s going on. Always love, keep caring and never judge anyone for where they are at in life,” he said.

David Driedger, the leading minister at the First Mennonite Church on Notre Dame Avenue, said some faith groups in the area have been organizing training sessions for church leaders on how to deal with people who are under the influence of substances.

While his church has dealt with cases of break-ins in the past, typically a handful each year, it has not had a significant negative impact on the congregation, he said.

“There has been an increased amount of challenges for a number of folks in our city and its been leading to seemingly more desperate expressions,” Driedger said. “Until the city as a whole acknowledges how connected we are in these matters, it’s probably going to be hard to find a way forward.”

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In the latest incident of violence near churches, police announced Tuesday a woman fell victim to an armed carjacking Sunday evening after leaving her parish. A 34-year-old female was leaving a church on the 500 block of William Avenue at about 9:15 p.m. when she was approached by two males and a female.

The suspects demanded the woman’s keys, forcibly removed her from her vehicle and stole some personal property before driving away. She was not injured, police said.

Two people died last month after a church in the North End was set on fire. Alex Donald Courchene, 28, was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of arson with disregard for human life in connection to the incident.

Parish leaders hosted a rally after the blaze calling for tougher sanctions on arsonists and more protections for churches.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.