The Little Church on the Corner

On June 9, 2022, the Feast of St. Columba, an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in what is now known as Scotland, the Pitt Meadows Community Church, a rare example of a prefabricated structure produced by the BC Mills Timber and Trading Company which flourished during the second decade of the last century was the venue for the final Anglican Eucharist of the Parish of St. Columba. The first Anglican worship took place four years after the Community Church Society formed to take over the purchase of the prefab building in 1922. Originally owned by The Seventh Day Adventists, Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians formed the Community Church Society pooling their resources to come up with the $1000 purchase price. Those were the days! Anglican and United Churches (the Methodists and Presbyterians merged in 1925 to become the United Church) have been the core supporters of the building but there have been several other Protestant denominations worshipping in the space and that remains the case right up to today. The Anglican community of St. Columba had been in decline for many years and continuing the parish was no longer viable. The parish had almost always been a part time ministry position except for the era of the Reverend Gladys Olsen’s incumbency in the 1980s. The Reverend Olsen was present for the Closing Eucharist, and it was a great joy for everyone present to have her in the congregation.

The Reverend Georgina Harris was appointed priest-in-charge by Bishop John Stephens for an interim period of July 1 – December 31, 2021 but continued through until June 30, 2022. The Reverend Harris had ministry experience in the region having been the interim at St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge from the beginning of 2016 until the arrival of that parish’s vicar, the Reverend Laurel Dahill, July 1, 2018, a ministry post that had often included supplying Anglican ordained leadership to the Parish of St. Columba. Clergy for the Closing Worship included the Reverend Harris; Bishop John Stephens; Deacon, the Reverend Eileen Nurse; Rector of St. George, Maple Ridge, the Reverend David Edgerton; Retired Rector of St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge and a frequent Sunday Supply priest for St. Columba, the Reverend Charles Balfour and the Regional Archdeacon of Lougheed and Rector of St. George, Fort Langley, the Venerable Kelly Duncan. 

Following the Processional Hymn, “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation” and Opening Prayers including the Collect for the Feast of St. Columba, Bishop John Stephens gave thanks for the ministry of the parish at the font and the lectern. 

 For his text, Bishop John engaged with the Epistle, 1 Corinthians 3:11-23, the Gospel, Luke 10: 17-20 but much of his focus was on the Saints Day being celebrated and how that connected to the life of the parish. 

 “As we look back over the life of this parish, we know well that all those who have gone before us trusted and knew this hope of God with us, revealed to us in Jesus, and it was central to every act of worship and decision made, including our worship here and now.  Or as we heard from the passage from First Corinthians a little while ago, 'For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.' And so, we recall so many people as we gather this evening. We give thanks to Georgina for her ministry over the last while, for her pastoral care and guiding leadership at this time. For past clergy who have offered the sacraments, prayed, given pastoral care, opened the words of Scripture to new understanding, baptized, prepared for confirmation, presided at weddings. They all served with great care and compassion, and we give thanks for their ministry.  

But there were so many others who gave great leadership here. Who gave generously of their time, talent and treasure. Those who were wardens or treasurers or cared for the property. People who taught Sunday School, who greeted at the doors, who organized parish picnics.  People who provided music, sang with great gusto; those who invited others, prepared the church for worship services, and prayed regularly for this community. Those who were baptized here, married here or were buried from here. Those who organized parish suppers or community gatherings or Christmas celebrations. So many people whose faith inspired them to live into what St. Columba invited. We give thanks to God for all these people and so many more. All those who discovered this church to be a thin place, if you will, a place where the distance between God and us seems thinner.

St. Columba is credited with saying: 'My dearest Lord, be thou a bright flame before me, a guiding star above me, a smooth path beneath me, a kindly shepherd behind me today and for evermore.'    

These words were known and lived out in this parish and will continue to be lived out.  We are saddened, it is true, that this is the concluding liturgy of ministry here, but we are so grateful for God’s steadfast foundation, God’s guidance, God’s grace, God’s blessing, and God’s purposes. For this will never leave this place or our lives. May we know this blessing all the days of our lives and even beyond. That does not end with this service tonight.” 

Following worship there was a reception in the parish hall, a 1958 construction that served the needs of the participating parishes including Sunday School, wedding and funeral receptions, for a period of time it was a preschool and throughout served as a meeting place for the Pitt Meadows community. 

To commemorate the life of the Anglican Parish of St. Columba in the diocese of New Westminster, cardboard bookmarks were made available with a message and a partial listing of the Anglican priests that had Celebrated at this place: The bookmark reads:

St. Columba Anglican Church 1926-2022

An Anglican Community has met faithfully for almost 100 years in the Community of Pitt Meadows. Over the many years of faithfulness Anglican Clergy have given of their time to provide leadership. There have been many weddings, baptisms and funerals celebrated in this historic building. 

Former clergy of the Anglican community in Pitt Meadows & St. Columba include:

H.E. Harris

Donald Gordon

Denis Harris 
Charles R. Cannon

William Pike

Fr. John Clark

Paul Wheeler

Gladys Olsen

Peter Niblock

Peter Heritage

Jeanette Stigger

Doug Dittrich

Paul Strudwick

Gordon Dominey

Charles Balfour

Georgina Harris 

IMAGES

• Pitt Meadows Community Church at age 100, home to the Anglican Parish of St. Columba, 1926-2022 as it looked on June 9, 2022 
• The Vestry Prayer. Vested clergy included: current priest-in-charge of St. Columba, the Reverend Georgina Harris; Vicar of St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge, the Reverend Laurel Dahill who was cruficer; Deacon at St. George, Fort Langley, the Reverend Eileen Nurse; Rector of St. George, Maple Ridge, the Reverend David Edgerton; Retired Rector of St. John the Divine, Maple Ridge and a frequent Sunday Supply priest for St. Columba, the Reverend Charles Balfour and the Regional Archdeacon of Lougheed and Rector of St. George, Fort Langley, the Venerable Kelly Duncan. 
• The Reverend Harris welcomes the congregation to the Closing Eucharist. 
• The Reverend Laurel Dahill leads the Procession
• Blessing the water in the font. 
• Dawn Power shares the Epistle, 1 Corinthians 3: 11-23  
• Bill Neufeld was the Psalmist leading Psalm 89: 20-26. 
• Eucharist was Communion of one kind, the Body of Christ. 
• Bishop John administers the Body of Christ to a congregant for the last time in the 97-year lifespan of the Parish of St. Columba.  
• A posed shot with the Reverend Gladys Olsen (the only rector in the Anglican history of this church), Bishop John and the Reverend Georgina Harris.