Taloyoak (Jan 24/05) - The walls of the Anglican Church in Taloyoak, built in 1960, are starting to come undone.

"The church is starting to crack because of the movement of the ground," said Taloyoak's Anglican minister Lucassie Nakoolak. "We even have to use duct tape on the walls sometimes."

A church committee in Taloyoak has secured $90,000 in funding from the Anglican Foundation of Toronto to build a new church.

But that isn't enough. They need thousands more before the carpenters begin.

On Jan. 20 the church committee met to discuss fundraisers.

They have already set their sights on a design, very similar to the new church in Arviat, and created by the same company in Ontario, Futures Steel.

"If we can get our new church going we're going to step forward. It's going to help people pass knowledge on to the younger generation," said Nakoolak.

There's a Catholic Church in Taloyoak, too, but the Anglican Church has more parishioners and has become too small for the community, said resident and former mayor Jayko Neeveecheak.

"It's the church I grew up with. It's getting old," Neeveecheak said. "They need a new one for sure."

At Christmas and Easter times, the Anglican church is uncomfortably packed beyond its 60-person capacity.

Cramped space and crumbling walls discourage church-goers, Nakoolak said.

"Some people who used to be involved in special services don't go anymore," said Nakoolak.

"We have no room for them."

The new church will ideally be 30x60 metres in size and accommodate more than 100 people, Nakoolak said.