Reflections
Summer is often a time of travel and of weddings. This summer, I was invited to participate in a marriage in Victoria, B.C. Kieran Wilson and Haley Kruse both attended St. John’s when they were at University here. It was a very happy occasion. It was my first time to the West Coast. The farthest I had been before was Edmonton many years ago for a liturgy conference.
The marriage took place at St. Barnabas, a church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition like St John’s. I was actually not aware of it until Kieran began attending here. While the parish dates back to the 1880's, the church itself was built in the 1950’s. Its rather austere exterior opens up into a warm and contemporary interior with a beautiful High Altar and Rood. It is a suburban church, if one were to try to compare it to something here in Montreal. It is rather like St. Columbia’s in N.D.G., or like The Church of the Advent in Westmount.
It was a pleasure to meet the Rector, Fr. Travis O’Brian who celebrated the marriage and Nuptial Mass, and Fr. Rylan Montgomery who was Sub-Deacon. I acted as Deacon for the occasion. Living in the relative Anglo-Catholic isolation of Montreal, it was good to meet fellow 'catholic' clergy. Fr. Montgomery is a naval chaplain and knows Fr. Alain Brosseau, our former Associate Priest. It is a smaller world after all than we sometimes think. St. John’s was also represented by birettas which Kieran was quite insistent that the clergy should wear. There is I think a special skill to packing a biretta. Unfortunately, I have yet to learn it!
Parishioner Ted Hall often commented on how beautiful Victoria was and what a great place to retire to it would be. Certainly, clergy like to withdraw to Victoria and Vancouver Island. St. Barnabas has no less than nine honorary assistants, including two retired Bishops, one of whom, the Rt. Rev`d John Hannen, retired bishop of Caledonia, is a relation of Archdeacon Peter Hannen. The Sunday after the wedding, I went to the Cathedral, which was in walking distance to where I was staying in central Victoria. It is quite a grand building although only a small part of it was actually completed; Anglican ambitions having out ran financial realities. I was greeted at the door with a 'don't I know you?' and indeed she was the wife of Eric Dryden, formerly of our synod office, who were both greeters that morning at the Cathedral and who now live in Victoria. Just a bit later, I saw Archbishop Andrew Hutchison and his wife Lois. They send their greetings. The Cathedral for its primary Sunday Eucharist uses the traditional language rite from the BAS and the Prayer Book for its early Mass. The Lady Chapel has an eastward facing altar with six candles, and perhaps more surprisingly, has the same Introits and Gradual booklet that we do.
After a week in Victoria, I spent a weekend in Vancouver. It is a city in a truly awesome setting, with the Rockies behind it and water surrounding it. Vancouver must be one of the few places in North America where the original Anglican parish is Anglo-Catholic. St. James Vancouver was the first Anglican parish in what became Vancouver, and it has always been an Anglo-Catholic standard bearer since its foundation. The church is located in central Vancouver but in the downtown east side; a gritty urban environment. The area, one of the city's oldest, has been described as being notable for its 'levels of drug use, poverty, mental illness, sex work, homelessness, and crime', while at the same also known for its 'strong community resilience and history of social activism'.
The present church - the third built between 1935 and 1937 - was designed by Adrian Gilbert Scott in what has been described as a 'Art Deco, Romanesque, Byzantine, and Gothic revival'. It all holds together rather well. The walls are of concrete and it is certainly unique. I suppose I would describe the outside as looking almost like a wedding cake, something between a Parish Hall and Parish House which would not look out of place in Oxfordshire. Once inside, the art deco elements seem to be somewhat lessened by the darker woodwork of the pews and ceiling made of British Columbian edge grain cedar. The High Altar is of stone from the Liverpool Cathedral quarries, and the sanctuary is very striking with a hanging Rood. The Cross was designed by Adrian Scott, and the figures from Oberammergau. A dossal and tester (a type of canopy) complete the sanctuary. The Crucifix and six candles were originally made by Watts and are of hand carved wood treated with silver and gold leaf. It was a pleasure to worship at St. James.
Then on Sunday afternoon it was back to Victoria and the flight back to Montreal.
Keith +
