Big changes at Church of Our Lord!

By Jack Krayenhoff

The Church of Our Lord, at the corner of Blanshard and Humboldt, may be a historic church, but suddenly it has become a large congregation, with some 350 members, and on Thanksgiving Sunday that happy event was celebrated in a big way. How did this happen? J. Krayenhoff went to interview Rod Ellis, who has been the rector there for the past fifteen years.

JK: What is the story behind this sudden growth?

Ellis: Just over a year ago Ron Corcoran, the Rector of Christ the King Anglican Church, and I were having a visit. He was talking about the difficulty of worshiping in a rented school gym, and not having the other facilities necessary for carrying out the church's mission.  So we said, 'We have so much in common - why don't we explore the possibility of joining our churches? There's room enough.

The leadership of both churches agreed, and there came a whole year of feasibility studies while the two congregations were getting to know one another, and in the end we came to the conclusion that it was a go. When a vote was held, both congregations were overwhelmingly in favour. So this past Thanksgiving Sunday the new Church of Our Lord (by the way, our affectionate acronym for the church is COOL), had a grand commissioning service, in a full sanctuary.

JK: Has everything gone smoothly?

Ellis: You've got to be realistic. When a couple starts dancing together, they are prone to step on each other's toes. There are challenges ahead, but we are going to keep our eyes on the goal and we will overcome them.

JK: The two churches belonged to different denominations. Did that present any problems?

Ellis: No. We are so close doctrinally that there really were no problems that way. Our denomination, the Reformed Episcopalians, had only very little representation in the West, so with the consent of our Bishop, Charles Dorrington, we joined the group that Christ the King belonged to, which is the Anglican Network in Canada. That is a group of biblically faithful Anglicans, numbering 67 churches all over Canada, and it is growing.

JK: What is the new church offering in the way of Sunday services?.

Ellis: An exciting array of different styles of worship. At 8 am there is a short traditional Prayerbook service, with communion but no music. This is held in our beautiful sanctuary. Then at 9.30 there is a café-style service. People sit around little tables in the church hall (known as the Community Centre), with a cup of coffee and a muffin - very informal and relaxed. The style of music is contemporary, with guitars and drums.  The 10.30 service is in the sanctuary, with a blended style of contemporary and traditional music, and liturgy. A Sunday school overlaps these last two services.

At 4 pm there is yet another service in our sanctuary. It is laid on by The Table, a church planted by two young pastors, and it offers a most creative and fresh style of worship. Over a hundred people come there, most of which are in their twenties and thirties: students and young families with children. Children are specifically provided for, just as in the morning services.

In addition we have an outreach in a school building on Kings Street between Quadra and Blanshard, specifically for the needy members of the community. It is called The Living Edge. Three times a week we provide food to hundreds of people, and on Sunday 4.30 pm there is a church service, followed by a hot meal. Some fifty of our members are helping in that work.

JK: Besides church services, what else does Church of Our Lord offer to our community?

Ellis: Right from its beginning in 1874, COOL has focussed on serving the community. Edward Cridge, its founder, and his wife Mary, took in orphans. That developed into what is now the Cridge Centre for the Family on Hillside and Cook. He set up a place to look after sick people - that grew into the Royal Jubilee Hospital. That is COOL's heritage. Today we have the Cridge Club, for seniors of the community.  Every Thursday noon there is a delicious three-course hot lunch, a sing-along and an interesting speaker.It is a cheery place where people feel warmly welcomed, and soon make friends.

There also is "The Sanctuary" where teenagers at risk, who otherwise are prone to hang out on the streets and get exposed to drugs, can get a meal, a shower and wash their clothes, and spend their time wholesomely.  It is an interdenominational ministry with three staff members plus many volunteers.

JK: Any last word to our readers?

Ellis: We are an exciting church, both with a long history,  (James Douglas, Doctor Helmcken and Emily Carr all worshiped here!) but at the same time it is the newest church in Victoria. You are cordially welcome to come and check us out.

Website is churchofourlord.org