Pythian Sisters Help Oxford Community Centre
The Oxford Community Centre Association is $1-thousand closer to its goal of raising $12-million.
The Pythian Sisters, Cedar Temple 21 in Oxford, handed over a cheque to a very appreciative association board member, Jordan Burkhardt.
It's the latest—and perhaps among the last—gesture of financial support from the Cedar Temple, which for decades provided bursaries to three students from the local high school each Spring.
The century-old chapter of the Pythian Sisters is shutting down due to an ageing membership and inability to attract new members.
Representative Mabel Lowther says changing times, busy schedules, and perhaps folks leery of the rituals of a "secret society" have contributed to the group's demise.
Closing doors is not unusual in the region. Lowther says there are few chapters still in operation in the Maritimes.
She says the COVID-19 pandemic was the last straw, as public health measures prevented many social clubs from meeting in person.
Disbanding Cedar Temple 21 follows their counterparts in the Knights of Pythias, who closed the book on their fraternal organization earlier this year.
For Lowther, in her 60th year as a Pythian Sister, it's a time for reflection. She notes that there are older members of the Cedar Temple, but very few active members.
Lowther had hoped that a new Community Centre for Oxford would have come sooner, so that members could gather in a new building and perhaps find new energy. But time waits for no-one, and the time has come to bring the Cedar Temple #21 to a conclusion.
She is pleased, however, that the group could contribute to the fund to build Oxford's next Community Centre.
At a public meeting last month, members of the Community Centre Association expressed optimism that the full $12-million cost of the new building, planned for the site of the former Oxford Regional High School, could be raised between the community and the federal and provincial governments—with a third of that, $4-million, the goal for local fundraising.
One member of the group, expressing his personal opinion, said he hoped ground could be broken for the building as early as next year.
To see the original story of the new community centre, click HERE.
The photo shows Jordan Burkhardt of the Oxford Community Centre Association receiving the donation from Mabel Lowther of the Pythian Sisters, and Faye Wood the Pythian Sisters Treasurer.
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