The structure that Grovenor residents recognize as St. Paul’s Anglican Church got off to a bad start – or, more precisely, a false start. In 1949, with babies booming and oil gushing, Rev. George Kelly knew that his flock needed a bigger pasture (so to speak) for Sunday services. So when he heard that parishioner Cyril Jones could spare his bulldozer for a few days, it was time to get to work.
Although an abundance of enthusiasm went into the project, attention to detail was in short supply. For example, before proceeding with construction, it is usually a good idea to get a building permit. Indeed City Hall can be quite insistent upon that. And there are some other things that are helpful to have in place too, such as a set of blueprints, a general contractor and skilled workers.
In the absence of these amenities, it is not a cliché to point out that St. Paul’s Church was very much built on faith.
The men of the parish worked on the frame using their own tools, on evenings and Saturdays, kind of figuring things out along the way. Their wives bandaged many bruised thumbs. The furnace came from an abandoned prisoner-of-war camp at Kananaskis. Arnold Walker, who lived across the street, stepped forward to oversee construction.
The building, which was used for the first time on Easter, 1950, is perhaps not as much of a triumph of architecture as Oliver’s Christ Church, but it has a lot of heart.
And certainly it is much more comfortable than the first St. Paul’s Church, which had no insulation and was heated by two pot-bellied stoves. Frozen pipes were not a problem, because originally the structure was not connected to water service. However, the simplicity gave the building ample charm.
It was completed in time for Good Friday services in 1914, just a few months before the onset of the First World War. Located at 147th Street and 98th Avenue, the church was one of the few buildings in Edmonton’s west-end large enough to accommodate social gatherings. Concerts, political meetings and Boy Scouts kept the facility busy almost every day of the week.
Every decade or so, in response to development pressures, the diocese hired teams of horses to drag the church to a new location. Between 1922 and 1936, it resided on Summit Drive at 144th Street. One Sunday, congregants arrived at that location and discovered a vacant lot. The rector, Rev. Christopher Storey, had forgotten to announce that the church was moving to 151st Street north of Stony Plain Road, across from where the Giant Tiger store is currently located.
It seems appropriate that the church is named after St. Paul, one of the Bible’s great travellers. In fact, prior to 1935, it was once known as St. John the Divine, but people confused it with another Anglican church, St. John the Evangelist.
In 1945, St. Paul’s relocated to Grovenor. The fulfillment of Rev. Kelly’s vision for a new building confirmed that the parish had at last found a permanent home.
This commitment was renewed in 2001, when St. Paul’s completed an extensive renovation project. Before work began, parishioners received a promise from City Hall that no further widening or straightening projects were planned for Stony Plain Road.
Grovenor turned 100 in 2007, and St. Paul’s will reach that milestone on Good Friday, 2014. That’s a lot of history, but both entities are looking toward the future, moving forward together, in the spirit of friendship, as good neighbours should.
Although an abundance of enthusiasm went into the project, attention to detail was in short supply. For example, before proceeding with construction, it is usually a good idea to get a building permit. Indeed City Hall can be quite insistent upon that. And there are some other things that are helpful to have in place too, such as a set of blueprints, a general contractor and skilled workers.
In the absence of these amenities, it is not a cliché to point out that St. Paul’s Church was very much built on faith.
The men of the parish worked on the frame using their own tools, on evenings and Saturdays, kind of figuring things out along the way. Their wives bandaged many bruised thumbs. The furnace came from an abandoned prisoner-of-war camp at Kananaskis. Arnold Walker, who lived across the street, stepped forward to oversee construction.
The building, which was used for the first time on Easter, 1950, is perhaps not as much of a triumph of architecture as Oliver’s Christ Church, but it has a lot of heart.
And certainly it is much more comfortable than the first St. Paul’s Church, which had no insulation and was heated by two pot-bellied stoves. Frozen pipes were not a problem, because originally the structure was not connected to water service. However, the simplicity gave the building ample charm.
It was completed in time for Good Friday services in 1914, just a few months before the onset of the First World War. Located at 147th Street and 98th Avenue, the church was one of the few buildings in Edmonton’s west-end large enough to accommodate social gatherings. Concerts, political meetings and Boy Scouts kept the facility busy almost every day of the week.
Every decade or so, in response to development pressures, the diocese hired teams of horses to drag the church to a new location. Between 1922 and 1936, it resided on Summit Drive at 144th Street. One Sunday, congregants arrived at that location and discovered a vacant lot. The rector, Rev. Christopher Storey, had forgotten to announce that the church was moving to 151st Street north of Stony Plain Road, across from where the Giant Tiger store is currently located.
It seems appropriate that the church is named after St. Paul, one of the Bible’s great travellers. In fact, prior to 1935, it was once known as St. John the Divine, but people confused it with another Anglican church, St. John the Evangelist.
In 1945, St. Paul’s relocated to Grovenor. The fulfillment of Rev. Kelly’s vision for a new building confirmed that the parish had at last found a permanent home.
This commitment was renewed in 2001, when St. Paul’s completed an extensive renovation project. Before work began, parishioners received a promise from City Hall that no further widening or straightening projects were planned for Stony Plain Road.
Grovenor turned 100 in 2007, and St. Paul’s will reach that milestone on Good Friday, 2014. That’s a lot of history, but both entities are looking toward the future, moving forward together, in the spirit of friendship, as good neighbours should.