INUVIK
Bernice Lavoie is counting the days until her fundraising campaign for Inuvik's famous Igloo Church begins.

Bernice Lavoie, a member of the Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church, is working to raise funds to help the famous Igloo Church cope with increased energy costs. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Lavoie, along with her husband Joe, is organizing a calendar campaign to raise enough money to help cope with the iconic landmark's increasing energy costs.

"We're struggling right now with the heating bills," she said. "We're using all our resources to maintain it."

Despite the best attempts of the congregation, the monthly cost of heating the church is still formidable.

Lavoie said in February the bill amounted to $2,000 for heating alone. That's down from the approximate $3,000 a month the church had been paying during the winter months, but still isn't a viable amount for the small congregation to continue paying.

Lavoie said attempts have been made to improve the insulation at the church, along with some other cost-saving projects. Weekday masses have been held at the parish hall since the cold weather settled in, she said, leaving the church itself used only on Sundays or for rentals for events, such as concerts.

Still, the small core group of perhaps 50 to 75 parishioners can't afford these kind of costs indefinitely, she said.

One option would be to close the church down for the winter, but she and other congregation members are concerned about what that might do to the venerable structure, which is Inuvik's landmark building.

"To me it's an icon building. You would hate to close the building up for the winter because you can't maintain it," Lavoie said.

"We're worried about what that might do to the structure," she said. "Or if we keep it open, can we afford to? That's why we're doing some fundraising."

That's why she and Joe are organizing the calendar campaign.

She said it's similar to one she did about 20 years ago for the Inuvik pre-school. That campaign raised a "few thousand dollars and, if we really push it, we could go even higher."

Lavoie laughed heartily at the suggestion that perhaps the church should try the very popular and successful "tastefully naked" calendar format that has been the rage for many years for diverse groups.

"Uhm, no, unfortunately," she said. "You have to remember where it's coming from."

It will be a tear-off calendar, Lavoie said.

"It's a good fundraiser. You can buy a calendar and include birthdates, anniversaries, memorandums. It's a good reminder."

She's looking to sell 500 of the calendars at $10 each. It should be available around the end of the summer or early fall.