Canmore church to mark 125th anniversary

Canmore was little more than a remote, rough and tumble mining town when a group of determined citizens met at the local one-room log schoolhouse with a dream of building a first Anglican church in the Bow Valley.

That was 125 years ago and this Sunday, St. Michael’s will kick off a yearlong celebration of the results of that initial meeting, which eventually led to the start of the first congregation.

On Sunday, the Right Reverend Greg Kerr-Wilson, Anglican Bishop of the Calgary Diocese, will officially begin the 125th anniversary proceedings at a special service at St. Michael’s, in the historic first church which has witnessed Canmore develop into a thriving, upscale Rocky Mountain gateway resort town.

Through the years, that original house of worship has had the roof replaced, new pews added, the foundations restored and the entire building moved to a nearby location on a four-acre site originally bought by the church.

Another, more modern church hall was built alongside and today St. Michael’s offers worshippers a choice of Sunday services: a more traditional Anglican hour of worship from the Book of Common Prayer at 9 a.m. in the old, original building and a more contemporary service at 10:30 a.m. in the newer St. Michael’s Hall at 709 - 7th St.

Marion Rogers has been a member of the congregation for 39 years and is both proud and excited that the 125th celebrations are finally about to get underway.

“It is a big deal; a marvellous thing,” she said. “The history of St Michael’s church — all 125 years of it — is exactly the history of Canmore. It was a mining town to begin with — all those hard times — and when people didn’t have a place to go they could gather at little St. Michael’s.”

The congregation has sent handwritten invitations to all the other churches of every denomination in the entire Bow Valley, inviting anyone interested to join in a coffee hour at the church on Sunday. following the services to kick off the 125th celebrations.

There are various events planned all through the upcoming year, which will culminate in a festive finale and church service on the evening of the actual 125th anniversary itself, November 14, 2018.