Supported by the Parish History Committee (formed specifically for the Centennial), Dr. Michael Silverthorne – a retired professor of Classics at McGill and parishioner – spent many months researching, conducting interviews, compiling and writing to produce the text for this 55-page parish history book.

We also wanted this publication to capture the life of Christ Church Beaurepaire throughout the years visually as well. Yevgeniya Amis employed her experience as editor and graphic designer to marry historic images and current photos with Michael Silverthorne’s text, producing a colourful and dynamic account of the parish’s first 100 years.

This full-colour edition is available for $20. Contact Rev. Joel Amis to purchase a copy.

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On September 15th at 4 pm 135 people joined Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson for a special centennial Eucharist. The service ended with the launch of a new parish history book (see p. 11)and recognition of Dr. Michael Silverthorne and Yevgeniya Amis for their work on the book, as well as recognition of Pat and Gerry Simpson and Donna Gomes for their years of faithful service to the parish.

After the recessional a time capsule – to be opened 25 years hence – was buried at the corner of the church.

We then gathered in the parish hall for a sumptuous potluck dinner where we invited people to dress in a 1920s spirit (in honour of our founding year), or early 1960s (the current church was built in 1962).

Congratulations and a huge thank you to all the CCB parishioners who made this event a success!

The post Christ Church Beaurepaire Celebrates 100 Years! appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

Peter is pictured here (centre) with his wife Rebecca, their three children – Pippa, Thomas, and Jonathan – and the Rev. Joel Amis, Incumbent of Christ Church Beaurepaire (right).
Photo supplied.

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The weekend centred on the Investiture ceremonies, which consisted of two parts.

The first part, the Investiture Vigil was held on Saturday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, while the second part, the Investiture service proper, was held on Sunday morning at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church as a part of the regular Sunday mass, with Pastor Eric Dyck (Chaplain-General of the Order of St. Lazarus in Canada) preaching and Fr. Marc-Philippe Vincent (Associate Priest at St. John the Evangelist and Commander of the Montreal Commandery of the Order of St. Lazarus) presiding.

These two events are normally held at churches of different denominations to emphasize the Order’s ecumenical nature and mission. During the Investiture the Rev. Joel Amis was received into the Order at the rank of Assistant Chaplain, and the Very Rev. Bertrand Olivier and the Rev. Marc-Philippe Vincent were among those members receiving promotions and commendations.

The weekend also included a visit to Maison St-Raphaël, a palliative care home and day centre in Outremont, supported by the Montreal Commandery. Support for palliative care is a core charitable mission of the Order of St. Lazarus in Canada.

The Order of St. Lazarus is an ecumenical Christian charitable and chivalric order of men and women, tracing its lineage back to the times of the crusader knights. The original mission of the Order was care for those suffering from leprosy (a highly stigmatized disease in the ancient world), but in modern times the mission of the Order has been expanded to include care for the poor, the marginalized, the sick, and the dying, promotion of Christian unity and ecumenical cooperation, and the preservation and promotion of the ideals of Christian chivalry.

As a Christian Order of Chivalry, membership in the Order of St. Lazarus is open to men and women who: identify as Christian and strive to follow Christ’s teachings, are of good character and standing in their community, and wish to help others. www.saintlazarus.ca

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Holy Week is always a stressful time for clergy and church staff, even in the most ideal circumstances. Over these past three years we’ve had little in the way of “normalcy” around Holy Week and Easter.

2020 saw us celebrate Easter in isolation. 2021 saw us back at church, but with many restrictions hampering our worship traditions. 2022 started looking more normal – but low and behold, I myself ended up testing positive for COVID… on Maundy Thursday!

2023 looked like it would be the first “normal” Easter in years…

Well, that was not to be, at least for our West Island churches. The worst ice storm since 1998 knocked out power in most of the West Island for days on end – throwing Holy Week plans into disarray… a disarray that perhaps reminds us that the first Holy Week was not a week that went how most people involved in the story were expecting!

What to do? The church has no heat or lights. I have no idea what communications my parishioners are able to receive, who even has access to internet or phone service. Should we try to forge ahead, or should we cancel services?

Different parishes made different decisions in this regard. At Christ Church Beaurepaire, I really did not want to cancel any Holy Week services, especially since we had advertised our services widely in the greater community, and also because we had created a combined choir consisting of members from St. John the Baptist’s choir and Christ Church Beaurepaire’s choir, which had worked out a full program for the Paschal Triduum.

As the whole ordeal had descended upon us so suddenly, we made the difficult decision to cancel the Maundy Thursday service. But I was determined not to cancel anything else, even as I wondered whether anyone would even show up – when practically all my parishioners were without power.

Good Friday seemed like an easier call: service at 2pm, so lighting is not an issue. Our combined congregation of St. John the Baptist and Christ Church Beaurepaire gathered in a cold church, stripped bare, of course, for Good Friday. Never have I been so grateful for my wool cassock!

Holy Saturday morning rolled around, and still no power at the church. What should we do about the Easter Vigil? This would be the first Easter Vigil Christ Church Beaurepaire had held in many years, and I had planned for it to be a multi-parish event, bringing together participants form St. John the Baptist (Pointe-Claire), St. George’s (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue) and Christ Church Beaurepaire (Beaconsfield). Should we cancel? Or should we try to proceed without electricity? If so, how do we manage the lighting?

Finally, we decided to proceed with our Easter Vigil… even with some fear and trembling on my part, as I wondered whether this was this right thing to do.

We pulled out every candle we could find and added a few battery-operated LED reading lights picked up hastily from Canadian Tire. But, would it be enough? Would we be stumbling around in the dark?

Ultimately my fears were baseless. As we listened to the traditional Easter Vigil readings, each holding our own little candles, night gradually surrounded us. Yet the soft glow of candlelight overcame the darkness – a powerful, though unplanned, symbol of Christ’s Light shining forth amidst the darkness of the world.

What initially seemed like an Easter Vigil marred by unforeseen circumstances turned out to be a deeply moving experience for all, as we celebrated the first Mass of Easter by candlelight like our forebears did in ancient times. And even in such difficult conditions, 35 worshipers gathered for this tri-parish Easter Vigil – including clergy representation from our ecumenical partners, as Lutheran Pastor Eric Dyck and United Church Pastor Lisa Byer-de Wever (Merging Waters United Church) took active roles in this special service.

A huge thank you to all who pulled together to make these services happen despite such difficult conditions. But if ever there were a blatant symbol of the truth of Easter, this was it! No darkness can overcome the Light, Life and Love of Christ!

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