On Nov. 17, 680 A.D., Hilda of Whitby, a powerful Abbess and defender of the Celtic tradition, died and was later immortalized as the patron saint of learning and culture. Last Sunday, on Nov. 18 – one millennium and a few centuries later – St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt celebrated its official reopening.
The church has been undergoing renovations for about a year after severe rot and structural problems were discovered 16 months ago. The ground floor and trusses in the ceiling have remained, but “everything else is either brand new or has been duplicated,” said Bruce Morris, deacon of St. Hilda’s and project manager in charge of the renovations. “It’s basically a new building,” Morris said.
Initially, the renovations were expected to cost $200,000, then jumped to $900,000, forcing the congregation to launch an intense period of fundraising. Since then the total cost has climbed to $1.3 million. Approximately $650,000 has been received from church reserves and donations, including $75,000 in donations from people outside the congregation. “The amount of support from the wider community was very moving,” said church director Rev. Clarence Li. Another $250,000 has been pledged and temporary financing was provided by a local business, which has since been replaced by funding from the diocese.
One of the major concerns going into renovations was seismic strength. The expansion has alleviated that worry. “In case of an earthquake, it stops the building from walking off its foundations and falling into the cemetery,” Morris said. The expansion has also created more interior space, with higher ceilings and transept extended outwards by about six metres. Details such as new LED low energy lights and walls painted soft yellow and white emphasize the space’s natural light, based on research by Mobius Architects and Olsen Electric. “Right away you feel the light and airiness,” said Morris of the interior.
Elements of the building’s structural reinforcement are visible in the ceiling of the church, where a triangle of rods are suspended, joined by an open circle in a syncretic embrace, which Li said reflects the church’s mandate of inclusion. “At the big celebration last Sunday, somebody joked that we could patent this as the Trinitarian support,” joked Li.
A large window provides a view of the property’s cedar forest, and is framed by a rounded low sheer wall, which in turn frames the chancel, imbuing the place of worship with what Morris calls a “sense of space and calm and – can we say good vibes in a church?”
Those vibrations are also literal, and a good sign. During last weekend’s reopening a drumming circle joined the celebration. “I was standing in the very back of the church and you could feel the vibration right through the floor. And what that means is the building has strength,” said Morris. He said the acoustics of the space have been enhanced, too, including an improved organ tone.
Li, who has delivered a handful of services since the renovations were completed, is letting the good vibrations sink in. “I’m still taking time to pause to absorb the beauty of this new space … to allow myself to see what new potential this space may have for our congregations and also for the wider communities in terms of celebrating music, arts, dialogue, spirituality and community engagement,” he said. “It’s very exciting.”
A 200-page book rests inside St. Hilda’s and inscribed in its pages are the donors, contractors and businesses that together built the latest incarnation of the church. Morris estimates that more than 100 people worked on the site, most of them local and headed up by Spani Developments.
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