St. Catherine's Celebrates Centenary on November 22

St. Catherine of Alexandria Anglican Church will hold its centenary service at 10:30 AM on November 22. Bishop Michael Ingham will preside at the service to which federal, provincial, and local politicians and former members of the congregation have been invited.

St. Catherine’s Church opened at its first location (Dewdney Trunk Road near Burleigh) on November 28, 1909. John Smith, who would become Port Coquitlam’s first City Clerk, was one of the founders of the church. He kept a diary, which recorded the planning and construction of the first church building:

January 11 [1909]. In evening Church meeting re forming a Parish here.
July 12. Slashing church lot. Mr Govier here to dinner.
August 21. Working in garden in A.M. In aft: burned the church lot.
September 10. In aft: hauled lumber for the Church of England.
September 11. Finished hauling lumber for church.
October 4. Church meeting, re building fund, held here in evening.
October 7. Working on church all day.
October 26. Hauled sand, etc to church.
October 27. Hauled windows, etc. to church.
November 27. Very wet all day. Took chairs, etc. to church.
November 28. (Sunday). Very wet all day. River very high. All trains stopped from wash outs & the roads all round junction flooded. Mrs Pentreath & Miss Roberts here to sing at church opening. Bishop could not come, too wet.

The Coquitlam Star (May 8, 1912), which erroneously gives an opening date of 1910, provides a slightly more detailed description of the church’s first service:

“The service of dedication will long be remembered. Floods held up the train, the Bishop only arriving in time to return on the next and only train. Archdeacon Pentreath managed to get in, but too late for the service, which Mr. Govier conducted. None the less, the congregation rejoiced to have the church finished.”

Extracts from John Smith's diary are from "Very Fine" The Diaries of John Smith, transcribed by Philip A. Jones (October 2006) and from the original hand-written Diary 7 (May 1, 1907—April 10, 1910) from the Special Collections Division of the University of British Columbia Library.

It's Messy Church Time Again!

St. Catherine’s Anglican Church will hold another session of Messy Church on Saturday, October 24 from 3:30 – 6:00 PM. Messy Church is a monthly program for families who find they can’t manage a Sunday morning service but would like their children to have a Christian element in their lives. The program features family fun, food, fellowship and worship. Fall sessions focus on the sayings of Jesus.

The September Messy Church session began at 3:30 with people registering, having a drink and cookies and playing board games. From 4:00 to 5:00 they worked on a variety of crafts, including friendship bracelets, potato prints and a Grape Treading banner. At 5:00 everyone marched into the church for a talk about remaining close to Jesus and how much Jesus loves us. Participants wrote prayers on grape-shaped post-its and then marched back into the hall for dinner.

Organ and Piano Recital on October 16

Kevin Wong, the new music director at St. Catherine’s, will present an organ and piano concert at the church on Friday, October 16, at 8:00 PM. He will play a selection of classical and popular music. The concert will be preceded by a spaghetti dinner in the church hall at 6:30 PM. Admission is by donation. All proceeds will benefit the St. Catherine’s music fund.

Kevin is an accomplished soloist, chamber musician and piano teacher. He holds a Masters of Music degree from the University of British Columbia. His diverse solo repertoire ranges from the Baroque masterpieces of J.S. Bach through to contemporary works of Chinese folk music. He has a special fondness for late classical and romantic works.
As a chamber musician, Kevin collaborates with string and wind players, singers and large ensembles. In May 2006, he performed and toured with the National Youth Choir of Canada.
Kevin has received substantial recognition in several piano competitions. He received third prize at the 2002 Pacific Piano Competition, which featured 40 pianists from around the world. He has been a provincial finalist at the Canadian Music Competition on many occasions.

Old Time Country Fair a Success

Members of the congregation and the wider community enjoyed the Old Time Country Fair hosted by the The St. Catherine's ACW on October 3. Home-made jams, jellies, preserves and baking enticed the adults.

Children indulged in cotton candy and popcorn and played heritage games including pin the-tail-on-the-donkey, ring toss, fishing pond and bobbing for apples. Both children and adults competed in the cake walks. As well, ACW members served a sit-down lunch, while a barber shop quartet (minus one) entertained.

Messy Church

St. Catherine’s Anglican Church presents Messy Church, a monthly program for families who find they can’t manage a Sunday morning service but would like their children to have a Christian element in their lives. The program features family fun, food, fellowship and worship. It starts Saturday, September 26 from 3:30 – 6:00 PM at 2211 Prairie Avenue (Trinity United Church building). This month’s theme is “I am the Vine.”
To learn more about the Messy Church concept visit http://www.messychurch.org.uk/.

St. Catherine's Anglican Church Women Present an Old-Time Country Fair

Members of the St. Catherine's Anglican Church Women (ACW) will dress in period costume when they celebrate their 100th anniversary with an old-fashioned country fair on October 3. The event will take place at 2211 Prairie Avenue (Trinity United Church building) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The fair will feature items that the ACW’s founding members would have used to raise money for the church in the early 1900’s. There will be kids’ games with prizes galore, cotton candy, “bag” lunches, cake walks, and food sales (baked goods, canned fruits, pickles, jellies, jams and fudge).
The ACW was organized as the Women’s Auxiliary in February 1909, when local citizens were preparing to construct the first Anglican Church in Westminster Junction (later to become Port Coquitlam). Within three years, through concerts and sales of needlework, the women had raised enough money to pay back a $500 loan for the church’s construction and purchase an organ. Over the years the ACW have contributed linens, vestments, prayer books and furnishings for the church and parish hall. In the 1970’s their fund-raising helped to repay the debt for constructing a new church building on McAllister Avenue. They also do catering for weddings, anniversaries and funerals and provide supplies for churches in remote areas of northern BC and Yukon.