Canmore church bucks trend filling parish, looking to expand

When it comes to church attendance, the common conception is that it's shrinking and there is some truth to that.

Statistically, the number of people attending church has dropped significantly since the 1980s.

• MORE LOCAL NEWS |Calgary reservists get flood response training
• MORE LOCAL NEWS |Dog stolen 4 months ago recovered by Airdrie RCMP

In 1985, 30 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and over said they attended a church service weekly, according to Statistics Canada.

By 2005, that number had dropped to 21 per cent.

The number of people that have never attended church increased over that same period, from 22 per cent in 1985 to roughly 33 per cent in 2005.

But a church in Canmore is bucking that trend.

More than 200 people sang during the service at Our Lady of the Rockies Catholic Parish on Sunday.

Paul Denaeghel has been coming to this church for more than 25 years.

He's seen a lot of changes.

"I see a lot of young families in Canmore. I mean, if you look out at the congregation this morning, there's a lot of new babies," Denaeghel said.

"There are young families that are deciding religion is important."

The crowd here backs that up.

It's often so crowded that some people have to gather near the front door and listen to the service on a speaker.

Father Wilbert Chin Jon is the pastor in Canmore.

He says this building, built in the late 50s, needs to be replaced.

"It's difficult to build community and not just because of the lack of seats," Chin Jon explained.

"We also don't have any function rooms, meeting rooms, formation rooms."

Father Chin Jon hopes to get his wish soon.

He says the community, including Calgary, has raised most of the funds needed for the new 25,000 square foot, 500-seat building and he's hoping to move into it by 2018.

• Keeping faith: The changing face of religion in Canada
• Rise in new city churches bucks secular trend
• Archbishop of Toronto speaks out against assisted dying
• Calgary Bishop Fred Henry unrepentant over transgender 'totalitarian' comments