AMHERST - Future generations of parishioners at Holy Family Parish will get a snapshot of church life thanks a time capsule that's being included in the construction of the new church nearing completion on Church Street.
Members of the church's transition team have been collecting items for the time capsule for several weeks and plan to have it put in one of the porticos near the facility's main entrance.
"The whole idea of a time capsule came from a discussion we had about how we can celebrate the transition and the journey from the old church to the new," transition team member Chris Manuge said. "It would allow them to contribute something and in the long run it's something we feel will assist in the closure of the old church."
It didn't take long for committee members to collect items from parishioners. The container contains a number of memorable items including a rosary brought back to Canada at the end of the Second World War.
"The church has a history of acknowledging the origins of the community and the time capsule honours that tradition," Deacon Howard Gotell said. "This is an expression of some of our roots."
Manuge said the time capsule includes a number of bulletins from various weddings through the history of St. Charles and Nativity as well as items from Beaubassin and information about the Acadian mass that was held as part of the Acadian Congress in 2003.
There's also a $1 bill, various communion medals and scapulars.
Work is rapidly coming to a close on the new home for Holy Family Parish with a special service planned for late July to commemorate the closure of St. Charles Borromeo and the opening of the new 12,000-square-foot building that includes a 4,200-square foot sanctuary and a 3,500-square-foot hall.
Once the new church is open, the old church, built in 1889 will be demolished. Neither Gotell nor Manuge are aware of any time capsule in that church although both remembered that a time capsule was found at the old St. Charles school a number of years ago.
A time capsule that was placed in the former Nativity of Our Lady Parish when it was built was retrieved upon its closure several years ago when the two parishes merged to create Holy Family.
Gotell is not sure when the new time capsule will be opened. She said it could happen in 50 or a 100 years or during some future renovation project.
"At some point after we're gone, someone will find it," Gotell said. "We have a record of what's in the time capsule."
The church is also holding an open house from 3-7 p.m. daily between May 25 to June 1. People are welcome to come to take photos, sit in the pews and pray quietly and reflect on the use of the church as a place of worship.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
