With the help of a community association, it may breathe new life down the road. 

Pat Burns, secretary of the New Maryland Heritage Association, said she recalls going to the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church with her whole family growing up.

She was baptized in that church, her parents and sister got married there, and her parents are buried in the cemetery nearby.

"Anyone who has ever seen the inside of the church or been a member of the community … were really basically in awe of the beauty of the inside and even the structure on the outside," said Burns.

                    Pat Burns, secretary of the New Maryland Heritage Association, said when people go to the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church they are 'in awe of the beauty of the inside.' (Submitted/Friends of the Historic New Maryland Church)

After the deconsecration, a call went out for people interested in keeping New Maryland's heritage alive, Burns said. That's how the New Maryland Heritage Association was born.

It took on the goal of restoring the church building. The hope is it will one day be a cultural centre with touchscreen kiosks showcasing historical information and photos from the community.

Judy Wilson-Shee, the association's chair, said the restoration is important to the community because of the sentimental value attached to the former church. 

She also got married in the church and her late husband is buried behind it.

                            The New Maryland Heritage Association took on the goal of restoring the building, which they hope will become a cultural centre. (Submitted/Friends of the Historic New Maryland Church)

"It's just so much history with that church and the inside of the building is just breathtaking, that we had the consensus that we would work on doing the restoration of it," said Wilson-Shee.

She said along with this church, there were also discussions around another deconsecrated church — St. John the Evangelist. There was a request for proposals last summer, but none panned out, meaning the option of tearing down that church is back on the table.

For the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Wilson-Shee said next steps include addressing structural issues like the foundation and roof.

While the association doesn't have an exact cost for the church's restoration, it's estimated to be over $200,000.

The association needed to raise some money for the restoration project, along with grants they received.

They came up with the idea for a cookbook fundraiser with recipes submitted from the community, said Mac Burns, Pat's husband and the chair of the cookbook project. 

The book was to have one recipe per page.

The association has sold 200 copies of its memory book. (Hannah Rudderham/CBC)

"It wasn't long [before] discovering that we had room on each of those pages for other things and recipes," said Mac. "So then we said, 'Well, since we're going to share recipes, let's share some memories.'"

From there, the association scoured digital archives and asked people in the neighbourhood for old photos with stories to accompany them.

Mac said since selling around 200 copies of the book, people approached the association and said some of the photos of their family members were ones they'd never seen before. 

Pat and Mac said a lot of the photos they dug up were ones they didn't know existed.

"It was a great learning experience for us," said Mac. "It brought back a lot of memories of days gone by.

"History has a way of disappearing if you don't document it."

The association scoured digital archives and asked people in the neighbourhood for old photos to accompany the recipes. (Hannah Rudderham/CBC)

Pat said a lot of the photos came from private collections and documented the old apple orchards, community functions and youth groups.

She said when growing up in New Maryland, despite being close to Fredericton, they wouldn't go to the city for most things.

"It would be really, really nice to have that sense of community back again," said Pat. "I think that this book that was created, it gives us very fond reminders of the strong community that we did have here in New Maryland."

For nearly 30 years, the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church has sat empty and unused behind a chain link fence on the side of the New Maryland highway.

The door of the church has a large florescent yellow  'No Trespassing' sign, next to a plaque that states the church is a provincial heritage site.

It's shame the distinctive wooden church isn't valued as the treasure it is, says well-known Fredericton architect John Leroux.

The door to the church warns trespassers to stay away. (Sarah Petz/CBC )

A committee formed by the Anglican Parish of New Maryland to determine what to do with the church asked Leroux to evaluate what condition the church was in, and report back to them. 

While the building will need some work, Leroux says it's an "absolute stunner" inside.

Pre-Confederation building

Its history also makes it one of the most important churches in the province, he said.

The church was built between 1863 and 1864, making it a pre-Confederation building.

It was designed by Edward Medley, who was the son of Bishop John Medley, the man responsible for the Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton.

Edward Medley designed five or six churches in New Brunswick after being trained by one of the most important architects in England. He was also an Anglican priest.

The church was built between 1863 and 1864, making it a pre-Confederation building. (Sarah Petz/CBC )

"It's a spectacular gothic revival building. It's one of the most important churches in New Brunswick and it's been kind of abandoned or forsaken for the last 30 years," Leroux said.

"I alway say, we shouldn't ignore our treasures, we should embrace them, and I think we have a chance to do that now."

Parish mulls options

Leroux presented his findings to the parish committee at a public meeting last week.

New Maryland Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee, who is the chairperson of the committee, said since the meeting she's heard from several people who are interesting developing some options for the use of the church.

"I think what stuck with a lot of people, they've never seen the inside of that church," she said.

"The inside is in excellent condition, it's really is."

New Maryland Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee is the chair of the parish committee looking into whether the church can be saved. (Sarah Petz/CBC )

The next step in the new year will be to come up with a business plan for the redevelopment of the church, she said.

But as both the mayor and chair of the committee, Wilson-Shee says she's trying to stay neutral about the best option for the building.

In any case, a solid business plan will be necessary if the church is to be re-purposed, she said.

"Anyone can have an idea, but you have to have a business plan. You have to know how you are going to accomplish, what you're setting out to do," she said.

A community project 

Ultimately, it will be up to the parish, who still own the church, to decide what happens with the church.

Leroux said he thinks the building could be used as a community centre where concerts or lectures are held.

"We want to make this a community project. This isn't about an Anglican church, this is about a beautiful piece of architecture and about returning it back to the community," he said.