January 27, 2013

185 East Keith Road-2000

Posthumous
First Church of Christ Scientist
North Vancouver, B.C. Canada

"Beautifully sited as a backdrop to the east end of Victoria Park, (in the center of the City of North Vancouver) this elegant structure employs classical elements in a picturesque fashion.  This design is distinguished by the tall proportions of the entry columns, the narrow windows and the engaged corner pilasters.  Architects Honeyman and Curtis paid particular attention to the fine detailing around the entry and the wooden trim around the windows.  Despite its modest size, this building has a great presence due to its location and the character of its design.

146 East 3rd Street (REF 2.)

"In 1912 a small group of Christian Scientists joined to form a Christian Science Society on the North Shore.  They met and held services in a rented house at 1428 Chesterfield Avenue for about one year, and then rented another house at 146 E. 3rd Street.  Toward the end of 1915 the Society moved to 800 Lonsdale Ave.

"In 1923 a property overlooking Victoria Park East was purchased for $600.  In 1925 money was raised, borrowed and financed, some of it from the Trustees of the Mother Church Under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy.  Tenders were invited from various builders, and the lowest bid of $6,980 from Steward & Coltart of Vancouver was accepted.

Front Elevation 

(1925 Building Plan-REF 2.)

"In June 1925 the Society's name changed to First Church of Christ, Scientists, North Vancouver.  The building was completed, and on July 30, 1925 the branch moved into its new location.  The church was dedicated on Sunday, September 8, 1928." (REF 1.)

Side Elevation

(1925 Building Plan-REF 2.)

The sanctuary of the First Church of Christ was on the first floor with large simple rectangular paned windows and the chancel on the east end.  A curved chancel communion rail separated the chancel from the nave. (This was removed when the church was bought by the North Shore Bethel Christian MB Church.)  Some pieces of the chancel furniture are in use in other parts of the sanctuary of the present North Shore Bethel Christian MB Church.

Sanctuary of the Church-2013

North Side Window-2013

On the lower floor of the church was a large social hall with a kitchen.

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"Christian Science is a system of religious thought and practice developed by Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), based on her reading of the Bible and personal experience, and described in her book Science and Health (1875). The Bible and Science and Health are the central texts of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, which Eddy founded in 1879 in Lynn, Massachusetts. A 1936 census counted nearly 270,000 adherents in the United States; as of 2010 there were believed to be under 100,000 worldwide.

"Christian Scientists believe that spiritual reality is the only reality and that the material world – including sickness and death – is an illusion.  They do not have an anthropomorphic conception of God, or believe in conventional notions of heaven and hell. They define Christ as the divine ideal of man and see Jesus not as a deity, but as Christ's highest human manifestation....

"...in recent years the church has sought to present Christian Science healing as a supplement to conventional medicine, rather than as a replacement for it. 

Side Entrance to Lower Floor "Reading Room"

"The Christian Science Publishing Society publishes a number of periodicals, includingThe Christian Science Monitor, a news magazine that has won several Pulitzer prizes." (Link 2.)  These publications were available at the "Reading Room" in the lower floor of the  First Church of Christ Scientist.

"On 4 January 2008 the congregation (of North Shore Bethel Christian MB Church) purchased the 83 year-old First Church of Christ, Scientist building on East Keith Road, and held their first service there on 9 March 2008." (Link 1.) (See Blog Post February 3, 2013.)

Note: Architects Honeyman and Curtis also designed the 1909 St. John's 
            Anglican Church in North Vancouver. (Link 3.) (See blog Post 9/16/12.)
Photos: Top photo taken in 2000 by SW as part of Year 2000 Photography

                       Project, Your House/Our Home and on file at the North Vancouver
                       Archives.  Other photos taken in 2013 by SW.
Reference 1: Sacred Sites Tour Booklet, 2005, "First Church of Christ Scientist-
                      1925 185 Keith Road East" by Joalyne Percey (CNV).
Reference 2. City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994, page 38 and 39. Link 1: http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/north_shore_bethel_christian
Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science
Link 3: http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/view/1522

Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)