St. James Anglican Church (Vancouver)

St. James' Anglican Church (third and present building)
St. James' Anglican Church in 2007
49°16′57″N 123°05′50″W / 49.28249°N 123.09727°W / 49.28249; -123.09727
Location	Vancouver, British Columbia
Country	Canada
Denomination	Anglican Church of Canada
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
Website	www.stjames.bc.ca
History
Former name(s)	Parish of St. James, Granville
Founded	1881
Founder(s)	Acton Silltoe, 1st Bishop of New Westminster, and sponsored by Capt. James Raymur, manager of Hasting Mills
Events	Great Vancouver Fire
Architecture
Heritage designation	Municipal
Architect(s)	Adrian Gilbert Scott, Sharp and Thompson - associate architects
Byzantine Revival Gothic Revival Romanesque Revival
Completed	Summer 1937/Third bldg.
Specifications
Materials	Reinforced concrete Slate and flat roofs
Bells	8 Bell Chime
Administration
Province	Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon
Diocese	New Westminster
Archdeaconry	Burrard
Deanery	Kingsway
Parish	St. James Parish of Vancouver B.C.
Clergy
Bishop(s)	The Right Rev'd John Stephens, 10th Bishop of New Westminster
Rector	The Venerable Kevin Hunt, Archdeacon of Burrard (retiring April 30, 2024)
Priest in charge	The Rev'd Mtr. Amanda Ruston (effective May 1, 2024)
Assistant priest(s)	The Rev'd Mtr. Amanda Ruston, The Rev'd Fr. Matthew Johnson, Street Outreach Initiative priest
Honorary priest(s)	The Rev'd Neil Gray (ret'd.), The Rev'd Neil Fernyhough
Deacon(s)	Honorary Deacons - The Rev'd Deacon Joyce Locht (ret'd.), The Rev'd Sister Mary Christian Cross (ret'd.)
Laity
Director of music	Gerald Harder (Organist/Choirmaster)
Organist(s)	PJ Janson (Assistant Organist)
Chapter clerk	Linda Adams
Churchwarden(s)	Reece Wrightman, Peggy Smyth and Leah Postman
Verger	Darren Campbell
Liturgy coordinator	David Agler (Sacristan)
Flower guild	Celia Dodds
Parish administrator	Fiorella (Fi) Mauro
Servers' guild	Wayne Sample

St. James' Anglican Church (Saint James Parish of Vancouver, BC) is a unique

The original building was completed in the spring of 1881 on Alexander Street (west of Main Street) in the Township of Granville (aka Gastown), Burrard Inlet to the north west of the present site and was sponsored by Captain James Raymur, the manager of Hastings Mill.^[1] Granville was renamed Vancouver when the town was incorporated as a city on April 6, 1886. This building burned down in the Great Vancouver Fire of June 13, 1886.^[2] The heat of the fire melted the church bell into a puddle that was eventually put on display at the Museum of Vancouver.^[3]

The second building was built in 1886 on land (east of Main Street) donated by the Canadian Pacific Railway after the fire. It was post-and-beam English country-style building. Being a wooden structure, it was not considered as permanent. It was torn down in 1935 to make way for the present building. Some furnishings were incorporated into the third building.

The present (and third) church building was designed by

The Rector of St James Parish of Vancouver is The Venerable (Father) Kevin Hunt, Archdeacon of Burrard. Reece Wrightman is the Rector's Warden.^[9] The other Wardens are Peggy Smyth and Leah Postman. In addition to the Rector and Wardens, the other voting members of the Parish's Board of Trustees are its Lay Delegates to Synod: Michelle Heshka, Ross Hornby, Joanna Lam, and, its Non-Voting Trustees, the Secretary, Linda Adams, and the Treasurer, Andrew Campbell. The Parish Council usually meets quarterly and is chaired by Louisa Farrell and its secretary is Cristalle Watson. The Parish Vestry meets annually or more often as needed. The Vestry Clerk is Linda Adams.

References