Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel
(3rd Floor Burrard Building)

St. Paul's Hospital Chapel
Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel is on the 3rd floor of the Burrard Building of St. Pauls Hospital at 1018 Burrard St. in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.  The double doors leading to the chapel each feature three red glass crosses.

The altar at the front of the chapel features a relief sculpture of  The Last Supper. On the wall behind the altar is a crucifix and in the right hand corner a statue of The Virgin Mary.

Altar-The Lord's Supper

The Virgin Mary-right front corner of chapel

Lining the west wall of the chapel, and opposite the doors are three sets of doubled windows.  The glass panes are multiple diamonds of opaque leaded glass.  The east and south walls of the chapel are lined with carved Stations of the Cross.

Station of the Cross-#5

In the rear of the chapel a pedestaled Holy Water Font sits next to the double entrance doors.  Statues of the Pieta and The Christ Child  line the east wall. And hanging from the east rear corner is a golden angel.

Pieta

Angel

Services in the Chapel include: Roman Catholic Mass Monday through Thursday and Sundays with Confession before and after Mass and Anglican communion on Fridays.  All these services are at 12:30 pm.  "Spaces are available to persons of all faiths and religious traditions for prayer, meditation, and quiet reflection." (REF.)

***

"From the beginning, the sisters, staff and physicians of St. Paul’s were keenly interested in using the latest medical technology. The hospital became one of the first to have its own X-ray machine, circa 1906. By the 1970s, plans were in place to remake the 500-bed hospital to fulfill its new role as a provincial referral and tertiary care centre for specialty services, with the ability to respond to changing needs in community care.

"Now a renowned teaching hospital with a strong research focus, St. Paul’s Hospital is recognized provincially, nationally and internationally for its work in the areas of heart disease, kidney disease, nutritional disorders, HIV/AIDS, and the care of the disadvantaged. 

St. Paul's Hospital
1081 Burrard Street

(Janet Wood painting)

"1843 – Sisters of Providence is founded in Montreal.
1894 – The congregation establishes St. Paul’s, a 25-bed compassionate care hospital.

1904 – A surge in Vancouver’s growth brought on by the Klondike gold rush allows for the first of many expansions, with the addition of 50 more beds. 

1906 – St. Paul’s becomes one of the first hospitals to have its own X-ray machine.

1907 – The School of Nursing at St. Paul’s Hospital is officially opened on September 1.

1914 – A modern fireproof structure with a new surgical department and 120 beds is added.

1931 – The North Wing is completed.

1945 – The South Wing is completed - combined with the North Wing this means an additional 500 beds.

1969 – The first lay administrator is hired and runs the hospital while the Sisters continue their involvement in the hospital and on the board.

1983 – The first 10-story tower is completed.

1991 – The second 10-story tower is completed." (Link )

Photos: Taken in Jan 2014 by SW.
Reference: "Care of the Human Spirit" pamphlet by Pastoral Care Services, Provindence Health Care.

Link: http://www.providencehealthcare.org/hospitals-residences/st-pauls-hospital/overview/history

Prayer

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

3080 Prince Edward Street
Chapel

Mount St. Joseph Hospital Chapel
Vancouver, B.C. Canada

"Mount Saint Joseph Hospital opened in Vancouver in 1946, but it really started with the dream of a young Quebec girl, many years before.

"Délia Tetreault was born on February 4, 1865 in Marieville, a small country town near Montreal. In her memoirs she wrote that as a child she had a dream that marked her whole life:

"All of a sudden I saw a ripe wheat field as far as the eye can see. At a given moment, the ears of wheat changed into heads of children and I understood that they represented the children of the world. I was struck by this dream and told no one about it.

"The dream came true in 1902 when Délia Tetreault (in religious life known as Mother Mary of the Holy Spirit) along with two companions founded the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the first missionary congregation for women in Canada. Mother Délia felt it was time for Canada to enter into the missionary movement of the Church, and she offered her life to this calling — reaching out to the poor, the underprivileged, and especially, those who did not know Jesus Christ.

"... it was no surprise when she responded to Archbishop Casey’s request and sent four Sisters to Vancouver in 1921. They moved into a home on Keefer Street where they provided health and education services, including a four-bed infirmary.

"In May 1924, the Sisters purchased another house at 236 Campbell Avenue and opened a dispensary. With the need for their services increasing tremendously, they built a new three-storey building next to their residence, and in 1928 opened St. Joseph’s Oriental Hospital. The Sisters started a second dispensary in 1936 at 795 Pender Street, which continued in operation until 1951, providing health services to the growing Asian community.

"Soon the facility on Campbell Street was no longer suited to the increasing demands of a quickly expanding population. The Sisters decided to acquire a larger piece of land, at 3080 Prince Edward Street, and to start work on a new hospital. In 1946 — the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters in Vancouver — Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (MSJ) was opened.

3080 Prince Edward Street

(Copy of photo on wall of hospital)

"Today, Mount Saint Joseph Hospital is a 240-bed acute and extended care facility with an international reputation for excellence in providing for the needs of multi-faith and multi-ethnic communities....

"During their 78 years in Vancouver, a total of 173 Sisters have served the people through health care, education, parish work and family counseling. Each and every Sister has tried to be faithful to the teaching of Mother Délia, who once said:

“Giving ourselves is our life! It is not enough to thank God in words…we must also transform our gratitude into actions…Let each of our lives be then through prayer, sacrifice and work a perpetual hymn of thanksgiving for ourselves and for all those who forget to thank the One to whom they owe everything. Let us be permeated with the thought, live by it thoroughly and leave it as a heritage to those who will replace us.”

Prince Edward Street Entrance

The main ground floor entrance of Mount St. Joseph Hospital remains on Prince Street.  At the entrance to this building is a statue of St. Joseph and the Christ Child.   

St. Joseph and the Christ Child.

The lovely hospital Chapel is down the hall in the rear of the first floor.   Statues are also featured here.  Central on the reredo is the golden Crucifix of Christ on the cross. Flanking the Crucifix are the statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph with the Christ Child.

The Virgin Mary

St. Joseph with the Christ Child

In the front corner of the nave is a statue of Christ of the Sacred Heart.  Seating in the nave is a bank of 6 pews on one side and 7 pews on the other.  A small electric organ is in the back on the 6 pew side.  

Christ of the Sacred Heart

Lining the sides of the chapel are windows with colored glass featuring a cross. Below each windows are plaques of the Stations of the Cross.

Colored Glass Windows of the Chapel

Station of the Cross Plaque

Mass is held in the hospital Chapel in the afternoons. "Pastoral care services are available on a 24 hour basis for crisis/emergencies." (REF.) For patients and staff unable to attend services, prayers are broadcasted over a PA system.

Photos: Taken in May 2013 by SW.
Reference: Hospital pamphlet "Care of the Human Spirit".
Link: http://www.providencehealthcare.org/

                                                                                           4/14/13

3211 Grant McConachie Way

Airport Chapel
Vancouver International Airport
Richmond, B.C. Canada

"In 1927 Charles Lindbergh refused to include Vancouver in his North Americantour because of the lack of a proper airport. Two years later the city purchased land on Sea Island for aviation purposes, replacing the original grass airstrip at Minoru Park. During World War II the airports and its original terminal, now the South Terminal, would be leased to the Federal government, and operated by the Department of National Defence and the Department of Transport. The airport was a base for Royal Canadian Air Force training, the crews and their families housed in a new townsite on the island, named Burkeville after Boeing president Stanley Burke. Funds from the lease were used to purchase additional land for new hangars and a production plant for Boeing Aircraft of Canada. (Link 2.)

"Our former location, in 1983, was the domestic terminal. Our present location was designed as a chapel when the international terminal was built. This June we will celebrate our 30th anniversary at YVR." (Layne Daggett.)

Entrance to Chapel Office and Chapel

The Airport Chapel is found in the south west corner on the arrival floor of the airport.  It is past the fast food outlets, the florist, the convenience stores, and the seating area.  This corner was a originally a ticket counter. In 1983 it was converted to the office of the Vancouver Airport Chaplaincy.  A volunteer will greet you when you enter the office.  Through the office and to the right is the Chapel. (Link 1.)

Chapel Worship Services

"The Chapel is hosted by a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers who offer: A friendly face and a helping hand for people who are travelling because of serious illness or the death of a loved one;o relax and reflect ... and share some concerns;A peaceful place o private prayer for all people and all faiths .... 
The colorful tapestry on the front wall of the Chapel is titled "Tree of Life" and was made by Mae Runions. 

One of the Chaplains can even arrange for airport airline staff to be married in a candlelight wedding in the Airport Chapel or nuptials on the top deck of a 747. (Link 1.)

Thank you: To Airport Chaplain Layne Daggett for information on the Chapel

Food/shelter for a stranded passenger, a new immigrant, 


a refugee cla

ima or Canadian citizk to Canada;A peaceful place of private prayer for all people 

                 tapestry.
Photos: Taken in February 2013 by SW.
Link 1: http://www.yvrchaplain.com/airportchaplainindex2.html
Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_International_Airport

Prayer

Dear God, Loving Father, 

Be with our children,  

Protect them, 

Guide them, 

 Give them strength.

Amen
***********

(Note 2017 Update: 2017 Annual Report

   April 8 AGM Highlights: 

SUMMARY:  Here's what God has been doing in our midst:

• 2016 Stats reveal that over 13,000 people entered the Chapel, of whom about 75% were Airport employees.
• The Chaplain team made significant contact with more than 7,000 passengers and employees in the terminals outside the Chapel.
• So, the total number of Chapel connections in 2016 within the YVR Community was over 20,000!  Much to be praising God for, eh?)

949 West 49th Street

Unitarian Church of Vancouver

Unitarian Church of Vancouver

Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Built in 1964 "The Unitarian Church, winner of the first (1965) Citation Buildings Competition, is a fine example of the Modernist idiom, possibly influenced by work of the Prairie School initiated by Frank Lloyd Wright, but given a local interpretation." (Link 2.)   It is "...the first post-1940s building added to the City of Vancouver heritage register. The building complex, clustered around a beautiful open courtyard, features cubic composition, overhanging flat roofs and floor-to-ceiling windows." (Link 1.)  "The building was designed by architect Wolfgang Gerson, (a UBC School of Architecture instructor and himself a Unitarian-Link 3) one of many architectural and engineering professionals dislocated by events of the Second World War, who immigrated to Vancouver and influenced the local design community with their European Modernist sensibilities.  "The Unitarian Church is culturally important for representing the wave of investment in community institutions during the decades after the Second World War. Many churches, synagogues and temples were built on the south side of Vancouver (Oakridge area)  in this period. Together with public spending on schools, libraries, and community centres, church construction demonstrates the relative economic ease with which major facilities were built in Vancouver in the 1960s. The relocation of the Unitarian Church from the Kitsilano neighbourhood to this site denotes the increasing mobility of citizens through the widespread use of the automobile. " (Link 2.)

Sanctuary

"The Sanctuary is a light-filled room, (Note photo of ceiling skylight.) holding up to (300) people. It is a unique space for weddings, memorials, and other rites of passage. The large stage at the front of the room is ideal for recitals, choirs, chamber groups and plays. Equipped with microphones operated by a sound booth in the balcony, it has excellent acoustics....Throughout the year, the walls of the sanctuary are hung with monthly rotating art exhibits. (Link 1.)  

In preparation for the 50th anniversary in 2014 much redecoration is underway  through out the buildings. The  intention is to provide a mid century look and feel to the building.  "Much of this has been the result of the work of Bennett Mitten, a church member and volunteer, who has been named this year by the Board as "Design Consultant In Residence" 2012 to 2014.... Bennett is a talented local furniture maker." (Elaine Spilos.)

Sanctuary "Stitcheries" (Detail)

The floor to ceiling "stitcheries" hung on either side of  the front of the sanctuary were designed by Wolfgang Gerson.  "They were made by a group of women all members of the church under the direction of Penny Goldstone who was a fabric artist and art instructor in the Education Deparment at UBC.  Each panel was stitched by a different person."  (Erika Gerson.)

 Sanctuary Ceiling Skylight

Hewett Centre

"Hewett Centre (named for minister Phillip Hewett-Link 3.) features a large hall, an up-to-date kitchen, the popular Fireside Room, and (other) meeting rooms to accommodate groups of various sizes. 

"The Main Hall in Hewett Centre can easily accommodate 100 people. It is used to host wedding ... receptions, large meetings, cabarets, pot luck dinners, auctions, and a variety of family and community celebrations.

"The Fireside Room at Hewett Centre is often used for celebrations, services and meetings. It can accommodate up to 50 people for presentations, slide shows, workshops and receptions. Lighting can be set to enhance a variety of moods. Our Art Committee ensures that this room has a rotating art exhibit on the walls." (Link 1.)

Fireside Room Fireplace 

"The mosaic in the Fireside was done by Bob Kingsmill...(Link 5.) He was commissioned by Wolfgang Gerson." (Connie Wigmore) 

The central courtyard ambles between the Sanctuary, the Administration building on the south and the Hewett Centre on the west.  The lovely grounds surrounding the buildings include: the Memorial Garden, several sculptures, and "Arbutus, Cedrus, Magnolia, Rhododendron, Acer" (Link 2.) trees.

Courtyard Sculpture "Beginnings"
by  John Voth

"That piece outside the window on the balcony stairs is by John Voth. He recalls its name as being "Beginnings", a reference to how the opposable thumb made survival for our species possible, leading to what we optimistically refer to as civilization (and facilitating snapping one's fingers)." (Rob Taylor)

Court Yard Sculpture "Ballerina"

At the 11am service on Sunday,  September 9, 2012 the Unitarian Church of Vancouver was presented with a Heritage Plaque as part of the celebration of 

Vancouver's 125th birthday.  The 125 sites were selected as "places where 

people and events shaped Vancouver's future and continued to tell the stories 

of Vancouver's past." (Link 4.)  

The Vancouver Unitarian Church welcomes visitors and rentals of its facilities.  Information is available on its website. (Link 1.)

Thank you: To Rev. Dr. Steven Epperson, Minister of the Unitarian Church of

                 Vancouver and congregation members: Carolyn Grant, Patti Turner,
                 Connie Wigmore, Erika Gerson, and Rob Taylor for their assistance.
                 Revisions directed by Elaine Spilos.

Photos: Taken August 2012 by SW.

                 Of Marjorie Smith photo, copy by SW.

Link 1: http://www.vancouverunitarians.ca/cms/site/pid/22

Link 2: http://www.historic places.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8923

Link 3: http://vancouverlights.blogspot.ca/2009/02/unitarian-church.html

Link 4: http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/projects/placesthatmatter.html

Link 5: http://www.kingsmillpottery.com/

In Memory of Marjorie Smith
1915 to 2012

Marjorie Smith
A mother and musician extraordinaire.
Member of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver.