Dozens form ‘Unity Circle’ to press for church preservation

LACONIA — About 150 people circled St. Joseph Church on Sunday to demonstrate their passion for saving the circa-1929 structure.

Leaders of the Diocese of Manchester called off a proposed sale of the church last month after strong community opposition to its planned demolition. 

A demolition request remains pending and it’s important to keep the issue on the front burner, said Tara Shore, who helped arrange the “Unity Circle.”

“If there's one thing Laconians do well, they come together for a cause, whether in tragedy or celebration or achievement,” she said Monday. “That’s what we were hoping for yesterday, a community outpouring of support to preserve the church.

“It was a great way to connect people from all different areas of the city, from surrounding towns and even from out of state.”

The diocese has said it would work with the city to see if the downtown property, which contains two other buildings in addition to St. Joseph Church, could be subdivided into three parcels, so that the other two could be sold. 

Meanwhile, a group called the St. Joseph Church Preservation Society, is preparing to enter into substantive negotiations with the diocese regarding ways to preserve the church, said Councilor Andrew Hosmer, a member of that group.

A key player in that society is Bob Smith, who was instrumental in the campaign to help the Boys and Girls Club purchase its building, a former Episcopal church, on North Main Street – and who helped establish the endowment fund for Holy Trinity School.

Hosmer also said city officials have been supportive of saving the church.

"There's an overall feeling on the council that preservation of the church is important," he said. "How it will be preserved is yet to be decided."

The St. Andre Bessette Parish announced in January 2017 plans to consolidate its activities onto the Sacred Heart Parish campus. 

On July 10, the city’s Heritage Commission met to hear a request from the diocese to postpone consideration of its application for a demolition permit.

Christopher Boldt, an attorney representing the diocese, said Commission Chairwoman Jane Whitehead and another commissioner should recuse themselves because they have been vocal in support of preserving the church.

Whitehead said Monday that an attorney for the city has advised commissioners who have publicly supported the preservation to recuse themselves from further consideration of the matter.

But Whitehead said she’s not sure of the logic behind that advice. She feels it is her duty to advocate on behalf of buildings that need to be preserved.

“That’s our duty and if we are not allowed to do that, if we are being treated as a jury and not a commission, that’s a dangerous precedent to set," she said. "That destroys the whole purpose of the commission.”