Before the War Memorial was moved to the Memorial Chapel in the North Transept, there was a much less military bent to the chapel’s overall décor. But the differences are not really all that major…
Read MoreIf you were reading a St. Matthias’ parish email in the spring or summer of 2022, you may have encountered a plaintive plea from your wardens on the subject of updating the inventory. “We want you,” you were to imagine Heather Barwick or Jessica Stilwell saying…
Read MoreOn January 16th, 1949, St. Matthias’ 11am service was neither Eucharist nor Morning Prayer, but a solemn service of dedication…
Read MoreSt. Matthias’, like many Protestant churches in Canada, is covered in memorials to dead soldiers, many in their late teens or early twenties. Whether you’ve read a plaque, looked up at a stained-glass window, or taken a moment to peruse the honour roll in the Memorial Chapel, it’s hard to avoid the reminders of what, and whom, this parish lost during the World Wars. The desire to memorialise these boys coincided with two important aspects of St. Matthias’ life from the 1920s through the 1960s…
Read MoreIn an October 1973 letter to Archdeacon Jack Doidge, someone who signs himself only “John” chides the Archdeacon for misrepresenting St. Matthias’ history to the Montreal Gazette. “You are not correct,” he writes, “when you say that it [the old bell] is all that is left from the old church.” John, who was a member of the 1962 committee organising the 50th anniversary celebrations of the new building and who had been one of the last baptisms in the old building in 1910…
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