CANORA - The leaders and membership of Gateway Community Church in Canora recently completed the installation of a lift in their church, thanks largely to the ability to take advantage of helpful opportunities along the way.
It all began when the church received a financial bequest from Myrtle Malec, a former member.
Gwen Machnee, GCC board chair, said the board asked themselves what to do, “How do we make our church building better?”
Machnee said the initial idea was to install a lift to go from the front door to the basement.
They asked a company with related experience about the idea, and were told about a federal government grant for public building accessibility.
“We applied in October 2022 and only asked for about $9,000,” said Machnee. “They replied that we were eligible for $63,000! We only had to contribute 20 per cent of the cost of the project, which we could do thanks to the bequest. And then the government sent out the cheque almost immediately, which is very unusual.”
The church had until March 2026 to spend the money, so Machnee said they had to decide on how to proceed.
“We held board meetings, talked to suppliers, talked to people from other churches who had previously installed lifts,” said Machnee. “We had about five options. Then, at a congregational meeting, we came up with a sixth, the lift option that was eventually chosen for our church.”
The church relied on Steve Merriam to make the necessary modifications to install the lift. Merriam, who was grateful for the opportunity, said he worked closely with Glen Ogilvy from Access2000 in the design process.
“Garaventa, the lift manufacturer, provides drawings on the lift shaft size with clearances,” he said. “I created a set of construction drawings and began the construction with help along the way of several individuals from the church including Jake Van Alten, Cecil Machnee, AJ Bathgate, Holly Masters, Pastor Greg Bright and others.”
The first step was to cut and remove a section of the basement floor to provide a recess for the lift at the basement level, allowing users to exit the lift level with the basement floor.
“We then constructed the fire-rated lift shaft to within one-eighth-inch plumb tolerances as required by Garaventa,” said Merriam. “We cut a hole in the exterior block wall and installed a new steel insulated door for access to the lift. We rebuilt the fire exit from the sanctuary level with new stairs and handrails, and also constructed a new sidewalk from the street along the building for ease of walking.”
After this work was completed, Clay and his team from Access 2000 came to install the lift and three access doors, one at each level. Merriam then returned to the site to complete the walls around the new access doors and install a new wall rail on the exterior of the building.
“After the lift shaft work was complete, Clay and his team returned to complete the assembly of the lift platform, install guards and trims, and complete the electrical and controls installation.”
T-Sask came the following week to inspect and certify the lift for public use.
“Throughout the construction process, we relied on God's direction and guidance, and it was truly amazing how well everything worked out, thanks to Him” said Merriam. “I expect the lift will give decades of service to the congregants and visitors at Gateway Community Church.”
Machnee said the church board was pleased to be able to pay Merriam appropriately for the work.
The new lift was first used in December 2024, and Machnee said it works better than the original idea of going from the doorway to the basement.
“The church building now has a new doorway,” she said. “The lift either goes four feet down to the basement or four feet up to sanctuary. All levels of our church accessible to anyone now.”
With a 750 lb. weight limit, the lift can even be utilized by someone in a heavy electric wheelchair, which Machnee said wouldn’t have worked with a chair or a platform lift.
“We were concerned about losing church space, but we haven’t lost any seating area with the new lift. It can also be used to move heavy objects up and down.”
Because of where lift is located, the church sound booth will need to be moved.
“Leftover grant money should cover that,” said Machnee.
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