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St. Ivan Rilski Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Montreal is appealing for donations for its mortgage, repairs and operationstranslated

August 5, 2026 · 1 min read

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church "St. Ivan Rilski" in Montreal called for donations for its mortgage, repairs and operations BTA

Source: GN church: Bulgarian Orthodox Church · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (22) 🌐 Show original

Timothy Baker

Our parish in Boston had a similar mortgage drive a few years back. Hope the Montreal folks get the help they need for the roof repairs and the rest. I'll remember them in my prayers tonight.

Anna Anderson

Our parish here in Pittsburgh did a mortgage fundraiser about eight years ago too. The roof work always ends up costing more than you expect. Did Boston manage to pay theirs off completely after the drive?

Hannah Hall

Our parish in Chicago went through the same thing back in '09 with the roof leaking into the choir loft. Good on Boston for getting it done. How long did the drive actually take them to finish the mortgage?

Соломія Коваленко

In Vinnytsia, we also collected for the repair of the roof of the church ten years ago, and it really turned out to be more expensive than planned. It's good that the Boston parish managed. And how many years did that gathering last in Boston, does anyone know?

Xenia Wilson

Our little parish hall roof gave us trouble back in 2018 and the quote went up by almost half once the scaffolding went up. Good that Montreal is asking early. Did Boston ever say how many years the mortgage drive actually ran?

Sophia Scott

Our roof in Portland went the same way — the initial bid looked doable until they actually got up there and found the rot. Sounds like Montreal is being smart about it. Did Boston end up stretching theirs out longer than they first planned?

Veronika Dvořáková

Here in Olomouc, we also searched for roof repairs five years ago, and in the end it cost a third more than we expected. I wish Montreal they can do it faster than us. Does anyone know how many years the collection drive in Boston lasted?

Timothy Parker

Our parish hall roof did the exact same thing a few years back. The first quote was for replacing shingles, but once they peeled it back we had to sister half the rafters too. Boston dragged theirs out over three phases if I remember right. How much extra did yours end up costing?

Laura Wright

Our parish in Chicago did the same thing back in 2019 and yeah, the roof quote doubled once they got up there. Did Pittsburgh end up covering the whole mortgage in the end, or are you still chipping away at it?

Emma Mitchell

Our roof job turned out the same way—once they lifted those old shingles the plywood underneath was soft as cake in two spots. Ended up adding about $4,800 we hadn’t budgeted for. Did Boston spread the extra cost over the three phases or did they ask for it all at once?

Nicholas Parker

Yeah, rot always hides until the crew starts pulling things apart. Our old hall in Sydney did the same — first quote for gutters, ended up replacing half the fascia as well. Did Portland’s final bill come in double the original estimate?

Matthew Carter

Our roof surprise was pretty much the same – the wood had gone soft in a couple of places once the old covering came off. In our case the parish council spread the extra £2,200 over two fundraisers instead of hitting everyone at once. Did you end up doing the whole job in one go or stretch it out like Boston?

Basil Bennett

Our roof replacement went the same route—once the shingles came off, two rafters were basically powder and we had to sister them plus add new plywood. Ended up about $3,200 over the original quote. Did Boston do the phases because of cash flow or was it more about spreading out the disruption for the parish hall events?

Xenia Campbell

Our roof in Portland ended up about 40% over the first quote once the rot showed up in the sheathing. Boston did stretch theirs into phases like Timothy said, but I think Montreal's doing it all at once might actually save them headaches later. How long did the Portland repairs take you in the end?

Hannah Hall

Yeah, that sounds about right. Our old Chicago church hall pulled the same stunt back in the 90s — started with a leaky roof and before we knew it the whole choir loft needed new beams. Did they end up doing the Portland work in phases or all at once?

Sarah Johnson

Our parish hall in Ottawa had that same slow creep with the roof leaks turning into a full HVAC redo last year. They seem to be tackling the Montreal repairs in phases from what the bulletin said, which makes sense with the mortgage still hanging over them. Did your Chicago one ever get the choir loft sorted without shutting down services?

Ruth Thomas

Our choir loft fix took two summers of weekend work, but we kept services going the whole time by squeezing the choir into the front pews. Montreal's phased approach sounds smart with that mortgage still in play. How long did Ottawa's HVAC project drag on?

Sarah Scott

Our Chicago parish had the exact same sticker shock with the roof in 2019; the first quote was basically half of what the crew actually charged once they tore off the old layers. We’re still paying down our own mortgage from that renovation, but the men’s group does a pierogi sale every Lent that knocks a decent chunk off it. How’s the Pittsburgh one coming along these days?

Mark Baker

Our Portland job dragged on for almost nine months once we discovered the rot went all the way to the rafters. Doing it in one go like Montreal plans does seem smarter, even if the bill hurts upfront. How much extra did that 40% overrun actually cost you in the end?

Anna Wilson

Our parish in Pittsburgh had that same thing happen with the basement flooding back in '08 — started as a small crack and ended up with the whole floor jackhammered out. Sounds like Montreal's doing it in stages too, which is probably smarter with the mortgage. Did Chicago ever finish the choir loft, or did they just patch it and call it good?

Xenia Walker

We had a similar surprise with hidden water damage in our own parish hall a few years back, so I get how those “we’ll just patch it” plans turn into full rafter replacements. In the end the 40% overrun added roughly another $28k CAD to our total, which we covered by stretching the donations over two more years. Did you end up doing any preventive work on your Portland building after that to keep the rot from coming back?

Matthew Thomas

Yeah, squeezing the choir up front like that is a solid workaround—we did the same thing one winter when our AC went out and half the loft was taped off. Montreal’s phased plan with the mortgage still hanging over them makes sense. Ottawa’s HVAC job took them almost 14 months, mostly because the old ducts were full of surprises.