November 12th: Anniversaries, Part Four
St. Matthias’ was officially founded as a mission of St. George’s, Place du Canada, in 1873, which means our community is 150 this year! For the next 12 months, we’ll be diving into the archives to shine the spotlight on particularly interesting parts of our history.
Rev. Edward Bushell supervises the laying of the cornerstone of the new St. Matthias’ building, on June 22nd, 1910
In April 1912, Matthians celebrated the culmination of more than twenty years of dreaming (and fundraising), and almost two years of building with the first Eucharist in their new building. Because of how precious this new building was to the community, every stage was wreathed in ceremony; because of the complexity of the task, those stages stretched out. It can make one ask: when, actually, is this building’s birthday? In 2009, Fr. Ken Near asked that exact question. He had been with the parish less than a year, and knew that this important anniversary was coming up – at some point. His answer to the question shows that he had already figured out one of the most important characteristics of this community: we do love a party.
Fr. Ken had been appointed priest-in-charge of St. Matthias’ in January 2009, at which point, it seems, he dove straight into the archives. His report to Vestry 2010, in March of that year, tells the story of Rev. Bushell’s cornerstone-laying (with its special trowel, which currently lives in the rector’s office) and declares the beginning of two years of celebration – which would also be two years of looking more closely at the building and at St. Matthias’ programming. True to his word, 2010 saw a Norman & Collie report on the state of the roof, changes to the Parish Executive structure, new lighting on the Cote-St.-Antoine exterior, updates to the sound system, and the beginning of an ambitious program of music, liturgy, and parish education that would continue throughout Fr. Ken’s tenure.
The 2010 anniversary service, commemorating Rev. Bushell’s communion with cornerstone-laying masons, was an evening service – the better to show off the newly-installed lighting. After a wine and cheese reception at 7, at a very precise 8:45 PM the organ sounded, and a host of clergy from across the diocese entered the church in their vestments. Although the celebration was of the cornerstone, the service liturgy that we have tells us that Matthians thanked God for and blessed the whole building, in the way that the Book of Alternative Services prescribes: first baptismal font, then lectern, then pulpit, and finally altar. At the end of the closing hymn, the congregation lit their tapers from the paschal candle and processed out to give thanks for the cornerstone and be dismissed to their homes.
Reporting on this service in his report to Vestry the following year, Fr. Ken noted that the lighting – which had received accolades from neighbours if not from the congregation – had been inspired by the Boken Report’s recommendation that St. Matthias’ “highlight our street level presentation of our facility more effectively.” The Boken Report – a 2009-2010 study by Ontario-based planning consultant Myrlene Boken – was commissioned by the Diocese of Montreal to study the ways that the diocese was struggling both programmatically and in terms of real estate. The report was not without controversy, as it split the 100 parishes of the diocese into 5 categories based on the strategic value of their location and whether they ought to be priorities for maintenance and repair. Fr. Ken clearly took the recommendations for St. Matthias’, which was ranked in the highest category, to heart. But the Westmount Independent, reporting on the service, did not seem to have noticed the new strategic addition. In true Westmount Independent fashion, the article closed with an anecdote from then-Member of Parliament Marc Garneau about how he would occasionally drop into a service, but mostly interacted with the building while walking his dog.
Marc also showed up two years later to the 2012 anniversary service, as reported by Peter Denis in a Montreal Anglican article about the event. This service was also gilded with the presence of many clergy, highlighting in this case former students like then-Bishop Barry Clarke and Rev. Robert Camara, who would go on to become Vicar General of the Diocese. That service also featured building-blessing elements, photos tell us, although we no longer have the bulletin to be sure. A four-man Eucharist celebration highlighted all of St. Matthias’ gorgeous vestments, and demonstrated just how many people can fit behind our altar! There were gorgeous flowers, a birthday cake, and plenty of food – all classic features of a St. Matthias’ party. Unusually, the celebration included a upright bass and piano duo in the Lower Hall during the reception – while Matthians do love music, it’s rare in our history to see it outside a service or concert context.
A poster made of photos from the event declares “St. Matthias’ Church really knows how to celebrate!” – perhaps one of the truest statements ever made about our community. From our very first days, we have loved to host events, to feed the soul with music and the body with food, and to welcome all and sundry to take joy with us as we celebrate where we have been, and where God is calling is to go.