After Grace United Church was destroyed in a fire Wednesday night, it wasn't just the parish's congregation that was affected.
For the past five years, the church has been home to the Minnow Lake/New Sudbury Co-operative Nursery School.
About 40 toddlers and preschoolers take part in the program, which runs a few hours per day, three days a week during the school year — it's currently shut down for the summer.
It's run by one early childhood educator with the help of parent volunteers, and stresses family involvement.
Melissa Gladu, the nursery school's board president, said the program has been around for more than 40 years in one form or another.
She said she didn't find out about the fire until Thursday morning when she checked her social media feed. Her reaction was “shock” and “disbelief.”
Gladu said the nursery school was located toward the rear of the church, and that's the area that received the most damage.
Now she's charged with finding a new home for the nursery school program.
While the nursery school has the names New Sudbury and Minnow Lake in its name, Gladu said the board would also consider other areas of the former City of Sudbury, including the downtown, South End and West End.
Because the program is licensed by the Ministry of Education, the space it operates out of must meet certain requirements.
This isn't the first time the nursery school has had to find a new home. It used to be located in St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary School until the school closed.
Grace United Church — which until 2018 was known as St. Luke's United Church, but changed its name after amalgamating with another church — was a great fit and very welcoming, Gladu said.
“And then to have this happen, it's disheartening,” she said. “But seeing the community come together, the support people have shown, it's pretty overwhelming.
“So we're really, really hoping to find somewhere to make it happen all over again.”
Tens of thousands of dollars of equipment stored at the church was also destroyed in the fire.
Gladu said the nursery school does have insurance to replace some of these items, and the program has also been offered support in this regard from the City of Greater Sudbury and local daycares.
She said she got involved with the nursery school seven years ago when the youngest of her two daughters was a toddler.
“It was awesome,” Gladu said. “They had so many good memories. They made friends that they're still friends with now even though they go to other schools. It's just great …
“We were talking about it last night. We're like the little school that could.”
If there are any individuals or organizations out there that may be able to provide an appropriate space to the nursery school, they're invited to contact the organization through its website or Facebook page.
