Laughter, love and longevity were the highlights of celebrations at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church this past weekend. A tasty barbecue on Saturday and a special service on Sunday brought together folks who have been worshipping in the same place for decades.
And although there's no one left who attended the first church services 113 years ago, there are several oldtimers with special memories of the church at the top of the hill on North Road in Gibsons.
Eric and Irene Earle, both 90, have attended the Anglican Church since childhood. The couple is celebrating 60-plus years of marriage.
Eric said one of the biggest changes he's seen over the years in the Anglican Church in general is in the ministers. At one time, all of them were single men. The priests were paid the princely sum of $30 a month and couldn't afford wives.
He commented that this was the second church the Earles had helped build. The first was in Port Alice where the couple lived for many years before coming to Gibsons in 1978. And they helped with the massive renovations of St. Bart's in the 1990s.
The Earles still live in their own home. They value the friends and community they've found within their chosen church.
Another longtime member of the church is Peggy Campbell. The stylish senior once wrote a gardening column for one of the many past community papers on the Sunshine Coast. Using her given first name, Marguerite, she specialized in roses.
Campbell joined St. Bart's when it was "just a wee chapel," the part now called the Bethlehem Chapel. The other part of the church was built later.
"I remember water used to collect underneath the church. It was always wet there, very wet," she recollected.
Another dedicated member, Helen Weinhandl, has fond memories of a past choirmaster of the church: "Mrs. Eleanor Morris -- she ruled with an iron fist. She used to get us in that little room before church services and check us all out. 'Straighten up, she'd say,'" Weinhandl recalled fondly.
Another wonderful memory for the Gibsons woman is of the minister at the time Weinhandl joined the church in 1953.
"His name was Rev. Oswald and his wife's name was Alice. He was such a softie; he'd do anything for you. He didn't have a family of his own, so he cared for all of us," she shared.
Weinhandl, like many of the parishioners at St. Bart's, is actively involved in other areas of her community. The charming, red-haired senior volunteers with St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary and the Elves Club. A few years ago she was honoured as Golden Girl during Gibsons Sea Cavalcade -- a distinction she shares with two other long-time members of her church, Edna Husby and Marybell Holland.
And if you recognize the Holland name, it's because there's a park by that name in Lower Gibsons dedicated to the memory of the plucky senior's family.
Another well-known Gibsons' couple that dedicates a lot of their time to their church is Eric and Peggy Small. Eric was mayor of Gibsons when the renovations at St. Bart's were completed in the mid 1990s.
The monstrous job required a huge community effort. Another stellar church member, Jim Lee, regaled the Saturday gathering with the fundraising efforts it took to complete the renovations.
Lee told the tale of a rather unpopular painting that had been donated to the church by a parishioner. The painting hung by a wire on a nail on the wall and everyone who passed it commented on how they thought the painting was inappropriate for a church.
One day the head architect for the renovation happened to walk by the painting. Stopping dead in his tracks, the man exclaimed, "My God, you've got a Weston."
The architect told Lee who W.P. Weston was: "He was a famous artist from the era of the Group of Seven. Had it been a group of eight, he'd have been a member.
That bit of serendipity netted the church $25,000.
Another function that scored big for the church was an auction. Linda Barrondes and Virginia Mills managed to raise $12,000 by writing to various celebrities and asking for donations. The jewelled box donated by Queen Nohr of Jordan turned out to be the highlight of the auction.
Another $18,000 was realized from the Department of Highways for land the province had confiscated to make a right-turn lane. And even the Town of Gibsons was nailed for property of the church's that was used for a sidewalk.
All through the evening a thread was woven of happy memories and faith in action. In a video commemorating the centennial of St. Bart's, Eric Small called the church a "community enabler" -- as true now as it was then, this is one church that has stood the test of time.
