The friends are the root of this problem. They resorted to this practice when the dmocratic processes, instituted by their parents/grandparents some 60 years ago did not bend to satisfy individual egos. This is an exceedinly small group, whose voice is amplified by the anonymous attacks you describe. They can end the division by admitting their folly, and asking for forgiveness. I for one would love to welcome them in from the cold.

Tänan Laas hea Kommentaari eest loodame et paljud kes on negatiivsed jättavad
meie mälud rahule.

Raul Rebane kirjutab Postimehes: "Küüditamine on mälu, mitte minevik"
Kuigi 1941. aasta 14. juuni küüditamisest saab varsti mööda 79 aastat ning 1949. aasta 25. märtsi Siberisse viimisest sai 71 aastat, on paljudes peredes küüditamise alateadvuslik hirm täiesti olemas, teatakse oma Siberisse saadetud esivanemaid ja neid päevi tähistatakse. Aga kas peab, jätame selle mineviku ja läheme eluga edasi, arvavad paljud. Teeme mõttemängu ja tarvitame sõna minevik asemel sõna mälu. Siis olukord muutub. Kuidas saab edasi minna ilma mäluta inimene?"

What is going on there in Toronto that those wanting to save the church are being made into the evil ones? Don't you have a minister and a council who understand the incredible need for places of worship? There is a war in Ukraine. Estonia may be in a situation where some need to escape
the country. Inflation is so high here that we may soon need care packages in Estonia.
One would think that the community would now rally to save the church after the loss of the Estonian House.
The Estonian House may have been too large for the Estonian community in Toronto, but the church is perfect. I have heard that the centre some want to build does not have the space or the conditions for many activities that were previously at the Estonian House. Looking at your situation from a distance I cannot understand why you are not trying to save the church. It does not appear that any real attempts have been made to save it.
Whereas there are much better and more interesting ministers in Estonia than the one you have chosen. Why are so many people against keeping the church? I have had so many people ask me whether the Estonian community in Toronto is going bankrupt from building a new centre.
I must admit that I am relieved that I now live in Estonia. As much as I understand our Estonian community in Toronto wants to replace our cultural heritage with a new building which is not even large enough for everyone in the community and for all existing activities and events. Here in Europe cultural heritage and history have far greater value than it seems to have in seems to have in the Estonian community in Toronto. After all, St. Peter's church is our last real connection to our unique cultural heritage and history.
I have also heard that the people building the new centre are desperate for cash and one reason they wanted to be rid of the Estonian House and now the church is that they want all money and donations to go for building the new centre. It apparently has nothing to do with the practical needs of the community or even what Estonia needs.
Could someone please comment on this?
Whereas correct me if I am wrong but most of the negative and aggressive comments are from people who want the church to be sold and who do not agree with saving the church.
There seems to be manipulation of those who want to save the church whose primary concern is to preserve the unique cultural Estonian heritage in Toronto which has made Estonians in Toronto stand out in a positive way here in Estonia.

Laas on natuke rongilt maha jàanud.
Info muutub kiiresti. Laasilw tervist ja mingus proposal peale ùle.

To Rita and the commentator from Estonia. Neither of you are part of this community here but rather making suppositions from afar. Hence you a speaking about things you know nothing about. My advice is for the both of you to mind your own beeswax.

I thought I was the only one who thought this!

Yes, the infighting among the “friends” and the Estonian Center/Ellen Valter lickspittles has alienated a large portion of the community. What’s moat disappointing is that neither side seems the least bit interested in the health of our actual community.
Shame.

With one exception so far (other than me) all of the commenters to this article anonymous.

What did Laas Leivat say?

"Cowards hide behind anonymity when belittling opponents’ intelligence or laughing off their motives."

True leadership unites people...not divides them.
True leadership does not find faults...but finds remedies.
True leadership does not sow hate... but cultivates love.

Once I conducted a seminar in a large, protestant church. I hadn't planned to, but I needed to reference something in the Bible -- which I didn't bring along with me. The seminar participants obliged me to search for a copy of the Bible. They found none in the entire church!
I remembered this unfortunate and embarrassing situation when recalling the past discussions on the demise of St. Peter's. In what direction should this debate go?
To state the obvious, St. Peter's is a church. A "church", according to the CRA, is an institution that 'advances religion.' One would further state that, in the case of St. Peter's, the purpose is to advance belief in Christ as stated in its chief symbols, the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Furthermore, the means of advancing this particular religion in the context of St. Peter's is informed by the Estonian culture in exile.
Where is Christ's place in this kerfuffle? I recall one mention of Him in one of the commentaries. Then, I googled the words "Christ" and "Kristus" in sites eesti.ca and eestielu.ca (4 searches). There was only one result -- a pdf -- which referenced a display by "Ukrainian Orthodox Church" in Canada that took place in VEMU. (That should not be a surprise given the 100-16% of the population that is proud of its national atheism!)
Mention of Christ is abscent from this commentariate. There is no reflection on soteriology or teleology by the participants on us as individuals or the community.
Many have strongly held opinions about Christ and His church. Most are uninformed. Perhaps the community needs to take time to come to know Christ, soteriology, and teleology -- our final destination -- by reading and prayer. St. Augustine's "Confessions" and "City of God" would be profitable for our upcoming summer reading list.
In other words, Christ, of necessity, must have pride of place in this current dialog. The direction of what to do with St. Peter's will become clearer.
A church without Christ is like a protestant church without a Bible!

The “friends” caused this problem. The “friends” can end this problem in one of two ways. They can accept the fact they were wrong. Most if not all would forgive this emotional lapse in judgement. I know I would. Happily. Without hesitation. Or two, they can go away. For good. Never to be heard from again. I mean GONE. I hate to say it but these are really the only options to end the division in our community. The majority of us will move on regardless. We are united in purpose. There are more of us. We have been chosen to lead. We are. We will. Nothing will change that. To the vocal, slanderous minority..it’s time to make your choice.

So where does the Latvian congregation from St. Andrew's now worship?

At St. John's Latvian church in the Lawrence Ave WEST & Avenue Road area... so why couldn't the Estonian St. Andrew's congregation hold services at St. Peter's?

Too many chef's in the kitchen, or too much bad blood STILL in the community?

To paraphrase Rodney King..." why can't we just get along?

Jeremija 9:Õige kiitlemine
22 Nõnda ütleb Issand:
Ärgu kiidelgu tark oma tarkusest,
ärgu kiidelgu vägev oma vägevusest,
ärgu kiidelgu rikas oma rikkusest,
23 vaid kes kiitleb, kiidelgu sellest,
et ta on arukas ja tunneb mind,
et mina olen Issand, kes teeb head,
õigust ja õiglust maal.
Sest seesugused asjad on mu meele järgi,
ütleb Issand.

"St Andrews was asked several times - they are not interested in cooperating?"

Exactly my point!

WTF???!!! Why not?