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Authority record

St. Mary the Virgin Parish (Sapperton, New Westminster, B.C.)

  • A-356
  • Corporate body
  • 1863-

This parish developed in the early 1860's around the community of Royal Engineers and Sappers, the "Sapper's Town", who had come to the colony of British Columbia in 1859. Services were held in a portion of the barracks until 1863. Prior to the disbanding of the Royal Engineers and Sappers in the summer of 1863, the church was designed by Lieutenant J.C. White and built under contract by D. Richards, a former Sapper. The consecration of the church, named St. Mary the Virgin, was performed by Bishop Hills in 1865. When government officials moved to Victoria, the parish lost a large part of the congregation. In 1879 the Diocese of New Westminster was formed. Its first Bishop, A. W. Sillitoe, arrived at Sapperton in June 1880. He and his wife occupied the rectory which he renovated and renamed St. Mary's Mount. With this event St. Mary's took on a new lease of life. The parish began a mission in the Burquitlam area in the early 1910's which developed into St. Stephen's, Burnaby. During the period of World War One, 83 men from St. Mary's Parish enrolled for service, of whom 13 paid the supreme sacrifice. As a memorial to their sacrifice, money were raised and a pipe organ was dedicated at a memorable service in 1922. The congregation increased after 1921. It was found necessary to preserve the old buildings from decay and also to provide more room for the parishioners. A complete restoration and enlargement of the church was made between 1921 and 1922. In 1927 decision was made to build a new vicarage. Early in 1928 the building was finished and occupied, thus completing the church buildings required to carry on the church's work. On December 1932 a disastrous fire gutted the whole interior of the church. The restoration work started immediately; the work was finished in 1933 when a special Restoration Service was held . Parish life continued through the hard years of the depression. After the Second World War the number of the parishioners grew steadily. In 1953 St. Mary's separated from St. Stephen's, Burnaby, and became an independent parish. Improvements were made to the church building, as well as the formation of new parish groups. In 1955 the decision was made to build a new Parish Hall. This event became another milestone in the life of St. Mary's which became the first Anglican church in the west to organize its own money raising campaign from the ground up. After the new Parish Hall had been completed in 1959, it was discovered that the foundations of the old church were in imminent danger of collapsing. Renovation work was started in June 1959 and the congregation was back in the restored church by September the same year. Work on the church was done carefully with an eye to preserving it as a historic landmark. It is the oldest church building in New Westminster. In the early days it was called the "church in the woods", nowadays it sits at the busy city's crossroads. Despite the many mishaps St. Mary's building went through, the character of the historic church of the first pioneers has been preserved. The special pew of His Excellency Lieutenant - Governor Seymour, who was in residence at Sapperton and was one of the earliest worshipers at St. Mary's, is preserved to this day. It occupies the same position in the nave as it did more than one century ago, and it is marked with a memorial tablet.

St. Agnes' Parish (North Vancouver, B.C.)

  • A-357
  • Corporate body
  • 1909-

St. Agnes' Church, North Vancouver came into existence in 1909 from the division of St. John the Evangelist Parish. The Executive Committee of the Diocese of New Westminster appointed the Rev. H.H. Gillies as first Priest-in-Charge to conduct the work along with the Lynn Valley Mission. In 1910 the church committee was elected and collectors appointed to raise the necessary funds to cover the purchase cost of a property for a future church. A Sunday School was established in 1911. Until 1913, the parish did not possess a church on its own, the Parish Hall serving this purpose. During World War One, many men of the congregation left for the front line. Consequently the parish was confronted with financial difficulties and it was decided to associate it with St. Clement's Parish. The two parishes separated in 1926. At that time, the St. Agnes' parish had grown to such an extent that it was considered opportune to become a separate parish with a Rector on its own. In 1927, the building of a Parish Hall became more and more needful. The church was moved to make room for the hall to be built behind the church, so as not to obstruct the view of the Church. On April 1928, the Church was officially opened by Archbishop A.U. de Pencier. Despite the hard times during the depression period, the parish tried to reduce its financial debts. In 1940, thanks to the organizations and individual parishioners contributions, the parish was free of debts. In 1974, together with the reorganization of the parish structure, it was decided to purchase of Rectory. The purchase was completed the same year. During the following years St. Agnes' church focused mainly on community outreach activities via study groups, and Christian education. Lay people became more and more involved in parish life; the attendance figures increased steadily. In 1985, St. Agnes' Parish celebrated the 75th Anniversary. Considered as one of the fastest growing parishes in the Diocese, St. Agnes' Church continuously encouraged people to take part in some aspects of the church's life through various parish groups and organizations such as: Anglican Christian Women, Family Life group, Women's and Altar Guild.

St. John the Evangelist Parish (North Vancouver, B.C.)

  • A-360
  • Corporate body
  • 1899-

The first Anglican church on the North Shore, St. John the Evangelist Parish was begun and organized as a mission in 1899. The first services were held in private residences and later in a small building at 13th Street and Lonsdale Ave. On October 22, 1899, the Reverend John Antle, afterwards founder of the Columbia Coast Mission, was appointed first Missionary in charge. In 1900, the church was built on the present site and it was formally dedicated by the Reverend John Dart as a Mission Church. This building was enlarged to double its capacity in 1907. In March 1909, the cornerstone of the church was laid and the Mission formally became a self-supporting parish. Opening services were held in July of the same year and the boundaries of the parish were extended. The Rectory was built in 1912 and a Chapel was added at the end of the Great War. In 1926, St. John's was fully incorporated as a Parish. In 1947, as a consequence of the fast growing population in the Capilano area, St. John's the Evangelist opened a Mission there. This Mission soon became self-sufficient and evolved into a self-contained congregation of St. Catherine's, no longer part of St. John's Parish. As the fast expanding South Capilano-Norgate area showed a need for special attention, St. John's called for a place of worship in that area. In June 1949, the first work began in the building of a Church Hall in the Norgate Park and South Capilano area. In 1955, the building was dedicated by Bishop Gower to the memory of St. Richard of Chichester. Over the years many gifts contributed to the furnishing of the buildings and to architectural developments of St. John's church. In 1948 the Memorial Hall was completed and dedicated. In 1985, St. John's was destroyed by fire and the Memorial Hall became the church for over two years. A new building was dedicated by Bishop Hambidge in 1987. With the constant growing of the congregation, St. John's has taken steps to meet the challenge through the extension of the memorial hall, increased membership and activity in church organizations, greater participation in the missionary field, and increased visitation work by both clergy and laymen.

St. Richard's Parish (North Vancouver, B.C.)

  • A-360.1
  • Corporate body
  • 1949-2009

Begun as a mission church of St. John the Evangelist, North Vancouver, the church of St. Richard was built by the people under the direction of the Rev. Charles Bishop in 1950. It was dedicated and opened March 16, 1951 and soon the Sunday School was running a double shift and all parish organizations were in full swing. Named for St. Richard of Chichester, a stone was inset at the centre of the altar in the shape of a triangle and was presented by the Dean of the Chapter of Chichester Cathedral and was taken from the floor of the church where St. Chichester was Bishop in the year 1245. By 1953 the loans for the church were all paid and plans made for an extension. By 1958 they were self-supporting and no longer a mission church of St. John's. In 1963 the parish was incorporated and approved with set boundaries, later to be consecrated in 1975. The parish ceased its operations and closed in 2009 (??)

St. Martin's Parish (North Vancouver, B.C.)

  • A-361
  • Corporate body
  • 1910-

On October 30th, 1910, the first service, that marked the beginnings of St. Martin's Anglican Church, was held in a rented hall situated on the corner of Lonsdale Ave. and Queens Road. On November the same year, the church became a mission within the parish of St. John's the Evangelist. The Reverend T.E. Rowe, curate at St. John's, was placed in charge of the mission. The mission was separated from St. John's in January 1911 and became a parish. The parish was dedicated in 1919 by Bishop de Pencier to St. Martin of Tours. This was in commemoration of the signing of the Armistice on St. Martin's day in 1918, and to perpetuate the memory of those who were killed in the Great War. Between 1920 and 1932, the church and the parish hall underwent various architectural modifications to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing congregation. The parish debts were faced with determination and in 1928 the mortgage was paid off. The rectory mortgage was cleared in 1931, and the Diocesan loan, obtained to assist in the purchase of additional lots, was repaid in December 1931. In 1932 the parish was free from all debt. In 1947, the need was felt to enlarge and beautify the existing church building. A new chancel and chapel were planned. On November 30th, 1947, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Heathcote and the new Memorial Chancel and Chapel were dedicated by Bishop Gower in 1951. The year 1954 saw many improvements that added to the appearance of the interior of the church. A new rectory, with construction beginning in 1961, was completed the same year, but there were concerns for the structural foundations of the church. Fundraising was lead by the efforts of the Women's Auxiliary Branches and in 1965 a new Parish Hall was completed and dedicated. The improved facilities gave impetus to youth activities: Sunday School, Cubs, Scouts, Brownies, and Guides. Parishioners were enabled to hold social activities such as Fall Fair, luncheons, plant sales, dances, and the like. Despite financial difficulties and fluctuations in the size of the congregation, St. Martin's operations were steadily supported by various parish organizations and by volunteer contributions such as: Women's Guild, Junior Auxiliary, Men's Club, and parishioners.

St. Simon's Parish (Deep Cove, North Vancouver, B.C.)

  • A-362
  • Corporate body
  • 1948-2010

Anglican parish work commenced in Deep Cove during the 1940's. Many years later [ca. 2000's] a parish priest and group of parisioners left the parish due to theological differences with the diocese. The new parish priest and parishioners petioned to have the parish name changed. The diocesan bishop agreed and the parish became St. Clare-in-the-Cove in 2007. That parish closed in 2010.

St. Columba's Parish (Pitt Meadows, Burnaby, B.C.)

  • A-363
  • Corporate body
  • 1909
  1. St. Columba's Parish began as Forest Lawn Mission. A church was dedicated to St. Columba in 1957 and the congregation was initially served from St. Andrew's, Burnaby. By 1957 it had been separated as a new parish. In 1964 it was joined with St. Alban's, Burnaby. St. Columba's closed in 1969.

  2. St. Columba's, Pitt Meadows (called Pitt Meadows Anglican Church until 1983) had begun by 1909 originally in connection with St. Catherine, Port Coquitlam. By 1962 the congregation was part of the parish of St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge. In 1991 St. Columba's became a separate parish.

St. Catherine's Parish (Port Coquitlam, B.C.)

  • A-364
  • Corporate body
  • 1905-

Regular services began in Port Coquitlam in 1905 in connection with the parish of St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge. A church was opened in 1909 and the parish of St. Catherine, Port Coquitlam was formed in 1911. Until the early 1960's the parish included the Pitt Meadows congregation and during the 1920's and 1940's the parish was also linked with Port Moody and Ioco.

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