{"id":56,"date":"2012-07-26T16:28:49","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T20:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/?page_id=56"},"modified":"2018-02-28T13:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T17:18:28","slug":"testimonials","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/?page_id=56","title":{"rendered":"Testimonials"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFather Raymond de Sousa
\nSacred Heart Catholic Church
\nWolfe Island On. c 1917
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Smoke damage after a fire meant that our 100-year-old church needed
\nrepainting in 2017. Ecclesiastical Refinishing proposed a new design for the
\nentire church aimed at enhancing the existing architectural beauty and
\nfeatures that were going unnoticed. It was especially important that Mark
\nand Andrea recognized that a church must be decorated according to
\ntheological and liturgical principles; I found it a pleasure to work closely
\nwith them to execute a theological vision with great artistic merit. The
\nEcclesiastical team was professional and pleasant to work with. Their
\nstandard was excellence rather than what was merely adequate, and the
\ncompleted design met with universal acclaim from our parishioners. The
\nchurch’s redesign was a worthy celebration of its centennial.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\nFather William Foote
\nSt. Patrick’s Catholic Church
\nCambridge On. 1880
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Ecclesiastical Group was the right choice for our restoration project. The design ideas were a perfect combination of creativity and tradition. The execution of the work was professional in every respect and completed in a timely manner – to the joy and satisfaction of our parishioners.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Chief Don Maracle
\nHer Majesty’s Chapel Royal of the Mohawk,\u2028 Christ Church Tyendinaga. 1843
\n52 South Church Lane Deseronto <\/span>Tyendinaga <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte are very pleased with the workmanship of the Ecclesiastical Group.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nBruce Higgs
\nChair of Restoration Committee
\nSt John’s Presbyterian Church
\n2360 Middle Rd R.R.#2 Kingston <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a beautiful 152 year old country church formally” Pittsburgh Township”. The Board of Managers chose the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group because of their special experience in painting churches. We liked their fresh design, choice of colours and strong desire to work with our church to preserve the iconic symbols and still give us a completely new interior. They suggested a back lite burning bush inset into three original windows above our entrance doors. They suggested a back lite cross at the front of our church. Their designer ( Andrea Belliveau), colour designer (Laurie LeClair) and their entire team are very talented. Mark Gray is a very dedicated, honest and talented leader who listened to our ideas and transformed them along with their own ideas to give us a superior restoration project. Our church had not been painted for 50 years . On Sept 28,2014 we held a “Thanksgiving for the Restoration of the Sanctuary Service” with over 100 in attendance. Everyone was held in AWE. The Board of Managers and the Church highly recommend the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nCarlyle MacMillan,
\nClerk of Session,
\nSt. Columba Presbyterian Church,
\nKirkHill, Ontario.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“On behalf of St Columba Presbyterian Church, KirkHill, I commend Mark and his staff for the excellent job that they did in repairing the ceiling in our sanctuary and Sunday School room. Mark rearranged his work schedule to accommodate our need to have the falling plaster repaired prior to our annual Kirkin\u2019 O\u2019 the Tartan service which fills our church to capacity. We are most grateful for the fantastic job they did.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nFr. Shawn Hughes<\/strong><\/span>
\n St. John the Evangelist<\/strong><\/span>
\n Gananoque, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“You have seen in the bulletin and have heard me mention many times the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Company of Kingston who were responsible for the design and execution of this project. Many of the artists are with us today. I’d ask you to stand and remain standing: Mark Gray the director of the company is out of the country and therefore can’t be with us, Chantal Rousseau, Mark Chamberlin, Bruce Millen, Robert Richard, Andrew Evans and Andrea Belliveau. We are so deeply grateful for your wonderful work in transforming our wonderful church into a work of art. Thank you all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrea, I would ask you to come forward. Ms. Andrea Belliveau is the main designer of this project; the creative genius behind all of this. Bear with me for a moment: I think human beings need mystery to be happy in life. If life is bland we experience no joy. Good design adds to the mystery. It makes life interesting. It connects with the artist deep within each of us. Andrea the feedback from your fabulous design has been overwhelmingly positive. People are wowed by what you have done with our church. I must say it has been great fun working with you on this project.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nSandra Lowry<\/strong><\/span>
\n Chairperson, Board of Managers<\/strong><\/span>
\n St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church<\/strong><\/span>
\nCarleton Place, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Mark and his staff of expert refinishers and artisans are commended for their excellence and competence. We therefore have complete confidence recommending Mr. Gray and retaining his company, ERG, for any future endeavour.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nJohn N. (Tony) Clark<\/strong><\/span>
\n Chair, Property Committee<\/strong><\/span>
\n Sydenham St. United Church<\/strong><\/span>
\nKingston, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“We found Mark to be very well organized, honest, very fair in negotiation of work content, totally capable of coordinating his team and extremely knowledgeable in conduct of this type of job. He worked well with the church’s contracted architect and restoration technologist and completed a superior restoration project.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nThe Rev. Zander Dunn<\/strong><\/span>
\n St. Paul\u2019s Presbyterian Church<\/strong><\/span>
\n Amherst Island, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I write on behalf of the congregation of St. Paul\u2019s, to thank you for the excellent work you did in repainting our sanctuary. As you know the sanctuary had not been painted for many years and had sustained recent water damage. You people did all the right things to restore the sanctuary and put new life into it. I have heard virtually no adverse reactions to the work you did. The closest to a negative response was that the sanctuary looked too good for our country church. But everybody else was fulsome in his or hers praise and we all agreed that it looks much better than before.<\/span><\/p>\n

We commend you for good use of colour, your ability to work various symbols into the d\u00e9cor, your artistic flair and your diligence and hard work. We are greatly impressed by what you have done and would be pleased to recommend you and your work to anybody else looking to have their buildings restored.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nNina Reece<\/strong><\/span>
\n Restoration Project Coordinator<\/strong><\/span>
\n Wilton Women’s Institute (formally United Church)
\nWilton, Ontario <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Thank you Mark and team \u2026 the work you have done is very beautiful. Our community is most indebted to you for taking part in this important restoration.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nFather Clement<\/strong><\/span>
\n Mon Signor<\/strong><\/span>
\n St. Mary’s Cathedral
\nKingston, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“\u2026 I think I better see you fellows in Church this Sunday. “<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nAndre Scheinman<\/strong><\/span>
\n Heritage Preservation Consultant<\/strong><\/span>
\n St. George’s Anglican Cathedral
\nKingston, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

” \u2026 thoughtful and careful work done efficiently and economically. \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nWendy Johnston<\/strong><\/span>
\n Chair, Board of Stewards<\/strong><\/span>
\nSmithfield United Church<\/strong><\/span>
\n Brighton, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Gray and the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group were hired to restore the interior of Smithfield United Church Sanctuary in October 2002. We have nothing but praise for their work. Mark was very professional and accommodating. He and his co-workers went above and beyond their contracted duties.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were very knowledgeable on how to restore the tin, which had many large holes needing to be repaired and restored to look and blend with the rest of the tin-work on the walls. Colours which had been previously agreed upon by the congregation, were put on the walls in sections, and the congregation was able to decide together whether or not to keep or change the colour shades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark was extremely helpful in procuring the new lighting fixtures. The finished product is very well done and beautiful. We now have a warm, inviting place in which to worship, and visitors always comment on how wonderful the sanctuary now looks. The Board of Stewards and church congregation highly recommend the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nThe Rev. David Jones<\/strong><\/span>
\n First Presbyterian Church
\nBrockville, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A few brief words of praise when I could have written paragraphs.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Presbyterian Church is grateful to Mark Gray and the entire Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group for their professional, high quality work. Our poor old sanctuary ceiling was quickly brought back to its original youthful lustre, and the fresh coral colour of our walls is the envy of congregations in Brockville and beyond. Thank you for your attention to every tiny detail and for the pleasure of your personal approach to this important project.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nRev. Byron Burton<\/strong><\/span>
\n Vankleek Hill Baptist Church<\/strong><\/span>
\nVankleek Hill, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe congregation is well satisfied with the work done, remarks being made on the capability of the workmen and excellence of the finish product.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>
\nMae Rombough<\/strong><\/span>
\n Queen St. United Church
\nKingston, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the summer of 2004, the Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group of Kingston undertook the task of restoring the interior lobby of the Tower of Queen Street United Church. The exterior and the structural elements of the upper levels of the Tower were restored in 2003 as part of the Church congregation\u2019s plan to renovate and restore their beautiful limestone building at the corner of Queen and Clergy Streets in downtown Kingston.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Gray and his crew showed a great knowledge and caring for our Historical Building. They very carefully matched the colours and designs to the existing stained glass windows. In addition, upon learning that one of the members of the Church\u2019s discernment committee which investigated the feasibility of the restoration was a friend of his, Mr. Gray undertook additional decorative painting of the ceiling in her honour at no further cost to the Church The work was completed in a timely manner, with great care being taken to the interior of the church itself. I would not hesitate to recommend Mark Gray and Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group for any historical renovations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Elia<\/strong> Anagnostopoulos <\/strong><\/span>
\n Rocksolid Properties
\nKingston, Ontario<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“I truly want to thank you for undertaking the historical restoration of the facade at 80 Princess Street.
\nThe vision for the fa\u00e7ade that you and your team provided reestablishes 80 Princess Street as a landmark in downtown Kingston.<\/span><\/p>\n

I cannot even begin to express my respect for your knowledge in the restoration business along with your expertise in guiding the project to completion while staying true to budget, timeline and most important never compromising the integrity and quality of the workmanship.<\/span><\/p>\n

You definitely are an expert in your field and it has been a pleasure working with you and your fellow tradesmen. I definitely learned a tremendous amount and I look forward to working with you in the future.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Father Raymond de Sousa Sacred Heart Catholic Church Wolfe Island On. c 1917 “Smoke damage after a fire meant that our 100-year-old church needed repainting in 2017. Ecclesiastical Refinishing proposed a new design for the entire church aimed at enhancing the existing architectural beauty and features that were going unnoticed. It was especially important that Mark and Andrea recognized that a church must be decorated according to theological and liturgical principles; I found it a pleasure to work closely with them to execute a theological…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-56","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecclesiasticalgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}