Friends! The 130th Anniversary event is just around the corner! Here is the press release describing the weekend's events:
One hundred and thirty years ago the world was a very different place. But people still needed to gather with their friends, build community, find refreshment for tired spirits and commune with their sense of the transcendent, with God.
So, William Robb, a settler farmer, donated land just north of his 262-acre farm to build such a place, provided construction begin within 40 days and the cost was greater than $2,000.
Thus, St Peter’s Anglican church began in Comox. Both conditions were met, with the final cost being $2,228. And on the weekend of September 11 and 12, the 130th anniversary of that event will take place accompanied by a raft of interesting activities.
A “Celebration of Remembrance and Hope” begins Saturday, the 11th, at 4:30 PM. Music, video and spoken word will picture the resiliency and courage of those past generations. Also acknowledged will be the tragedy their society was indifferent to with respect to their Indigenous neighbours. The new bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets, Anna Greenwood-Lee, will be one of the speakers.
A public picnic follows in the church gardens. Covid restrictions require people to bring food from home or purchase it from the taphouse or bakery across the street.
St Peter’s will be open from 10:30 AM, Saturday, for reflection and prayer. But the church’s bell will break the reverie at 1:30 PM by being rung 130 times by Bishop Anna. The church gardens will be open from 10:30 AM on for games for the family and stalls displaying the activities of the church’s partner organizations such as L’Arche, Comox Valley Youth and the Pregnancy Centre.
A highlight of the weekend will be guided history walks around the streets and lanes of Comox, guaranteed to bring daily activity over the last 130 years to life. The first walk will start on Saturday at 10:30 AM and take about two hours, ending with a reception at the Comox Museum. The walks are by donation and an illustrated guidebook will be available for purchase.
Other walks will happen at 2 PM, Saturday and 11 AM, Sunday. Places are limited to 14 and bookings can be made by phoning 250-339-2925 between 9 AM and 1 PM, Tuesday to Thursday or emailing admin@stpeterscomox.ca.
St Peter’s will celebrate its first Communion service in 16 months on Sunday, September 12 at 9:30 AM with refreshments served in the garden afterwards. All are welcome. The service will be projected on a screen and thus be easy to follow. A second picnic will take place at 12 noon but again food will need to be brought from home or purchased across the street. For up-to-date information on the weekend, please refer to www.stpeterscomox.ca or St Peter’s Comox on Facebook or YouTube.