BLOG ..BLOGUE
News from SouthWest ..Des nouvelles du Sud-Ouest
Landmarks
The landscape of Verdun keeps changing, but certain church landmarks remain constant.
On a beautiful sunny day earlier this week I went for a walk and took some pictures of the former First Pres and the former Chalmers United.
I’ve often wondered why the cornerstone at the left of the door reads “A.D. 1985”, when the original part of First Presbyterian was built in, I believe, 1926. It seems there was a fire in the ‘80s and part of the building had to be reconstructed. Since 2009, this part of the building has been occupied by a Tibetan Buddhist temple.
The extension, built in 1956, currently houses three congregations: Grace Church, Verdun Community Church, and the Formosa Christian Church of Montreal.
A view of the whole building, at 501 and 503 5th Avenue.
There is another Blog post about First Pres here.
Chalmers United also underwent an expansion that is still in evidence to this day.
The original church, built in 1911, is further back on the lot and faces Ross street.
The “new” church, from 1922, at 177 de l’Eglise.
The corner of Ross and de l’Eglise, with the former Chalmers (now Montreal Korean United Church) on the left and the De l’Eglise metro on the right.
Read more Memories of Chalmers United here.
Ash Wednesay 2022
On Wednesday evening, a small group of SouthWest people gathered to eat together in the church hall. When is the last time we were able to write those words?
The pancake supper was followed by a simple service with ashes. Here are a few pictures from the event.
Responding to A Cry For Help
[The following is from Nouvelles Nakonha:ka News of February 23rd, 2022. Go here if you wish to subscribe to this bi-weekly newsletter from our Regional Council.]
In response to a recent open letter (A Cry for Help) written by Nakuset and Mary Martin-Goodleaf, the Living in Right Relations Circle (LIRR) submitted a grant request to Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council (CrNRC) for $60,000, to be given to Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal in aid of our neighbours in crisis, supporting Résilience and the Raphaël André Memorial Tent in Cabot Square. The Granting & Enabling Leadership Team (GELT) was able to grant the request, with $30,000 from the Erskine & AmericanMountainside Trust Fund, $15,000 from the Bhal-Jun 발전 Fund and $15,000 from the Good Samaritan Fund. On February 10, 2022, a cheque for $45,000 was presented in person to Nakuset and the Resilience team by Lisa Byer-de Wever, Jan Jorgensen, and Read Sherman representing LIRR, and Marc Grenon, representing CrNRC in a simple gesture of solidarity. Moving words by Elder Robert Patton were written in a card to accompany the cheque. (The remaining $15,000 from the Good Samaritan Fund will be directly transferred by the General Council Office Team to the Native Women’s Shelter of Montréal.) LIRR wishes to express its deep gratitude to the Granting and Enabling Leadership Team and the Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council for its generosity in response to this call for help!
Blog: 2021, Year in Review
Pastor Beryl is on a study week. The service on Sunday (Feb. 27) will be lay-led.
Every year at this time I find myself looking through old newsletters and pondering the previous year as I compile the SouthWest Annual Report. Although it sometimes feels as if time has stood still since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic almost two years ago, in fact there have been many ups and downs.
2021 was the first full calendar year of pandemic, and for us it began similarly to 2022: with churches closed and services pre-recorded and shared online. On January 6th we watched an attempted insurrection play out in Washington DC and tut-tutted about our neighbours to the south. Little did we imagine the scenes we would witness in Ottawa barely a year later. We lost our beloved Ethel Jenkins on the 20thof January.
The hoped-for reopening date of February 8th came and went and we remained shut down. Pastor Beryl shared special readings for Lent, and even a fool-proof pancake recipe for Fat Tuesday. By the end of February the first vaccines became available and people over 80 were prioritized. SouthWest people gladly rolled up their sleeves for the jab, and helped each other make, and get to, appointments.
In March Keith Wood had surgery which thankfully went well, but our dear Beverly Ross passed away. Churches were finally allowed to open for a maximum of 25 people at the end of the month, just in time for Palm Sunday. Strict measures were in place including masks and distancing.
In April we celebrated Easter; Centenary United moved from Fortune Street to St. Columba House; We sent greeting cards to MUHC nurses to thank them for their dedication throughout the pandemic; Joelle Leduc gave birth to baby Jacqueline, and after two false starts, Dennis Brown finally got his heart operation.
In May, Pastor Beryl baptized baby Zoey, although it was done on a Saturday rather than during a Sunday service because of attendance restrictions. Aline Sorel read a poem in memory of Steve during the service one year after his passing; she also got the knee replacement she had been waiting for so long. Former choir member Brian Carleton passed away. At the end of May came the announcement that unmarked graves had been found at the site of a former “Indian” residential school in B.C. They have proved to be just the tip of the iceberg as this tragic story unfolds across the country.
In June people started to get their second doses of Covid vaccine, and by the end of the month Quebec had become a “yellow zone” with restrictions easing somewhat. We were able to have outdoor cookies and lemonade following the service on the 27th – quite a treat! May Cook moved into the Real Morel residence. Four members of a Muslim family were killed and a 9-year-old child badly wounded in a hate-fueled attack in London, Ontario.
Pastor Beryl took a needed vacation in July. The newsletter went out every second week, and we tried to get people interested in an informal online Bible study. Patricia Rickert, sister of Denis Pantridge and a former member of SouthWest, passed away in Grimsby, Ontario.
In August, with the restriction on congregational singing more-or-less lifted, we resumed live services. Church Council met that month for the first time since January 2020. There were two baptisms, and an earthquake in Haiti. Denis Pantridge passed away on the 14th and the family was able to celebrate his life in church two weeks later.
In September, Pastor Beryl and team were able to return to the Floralies Lasalle for an Outreach service. We collected school supplies for Verdun Elementary School, and wore orange shirts in solidarity with survivors of residential schools. There was a Federal election that left things pretty unchanged with the Liberals continuing to lead the country. Jan Barr passed away in New Brunswick; We lost Norman Butt on the 21st at age 97.
In October, we resumed our once-a-month food collection for the Dawson Food Bank (Manna Verdun). We celebrated Thanksgiving in the church, had a visit from Sheila Morrison to update us on the Breakfast Club at VES, and held our All Saints Memorial on October 31st.
November brought a Municipal election, a time change, and the start of Advent on the 28th. Our beloved Shirley McGowan passed away on the 19th.
December started off strong with Advent services, a small Christmas market and bake sale on the 12th, and even a Candlelight service on the 19th. A planned Christmas Eve service had to be pre-recorded in the end as the province shut down again due to the Omicron variant.
So you see it was an eventful year. We laughed, cried and prayed together, even when far apart.
Amy
The Winter Hymn Project 4
I know it’s going to be colder on the weekend, but right now, yesterday and today, there’s been a hint of spring-to-come in the air. Bliss! Anybody else looking forward to that first cup of coffee outside? Let the countdown begin, and that includes the number of weeks left in the Winter Hymn Project. So…keep those hymn suggestions coming (email addresses below), and we’ll sing our way through to spring!
We have a wonderful collection of hymns this week, including two that are not in the ‘regular’ hymn books. I’ve copied out a few verses for each of them, which you can find below.
Angela Barraclough: VU 291 All Things Bright and Beautiful
I would appreciate hearing All Things Bright and Beautiful. This was one of my Mom’s favorite hymns. I am sure she really loved it because of her love for animals and nature. We played it for her funeral at the church and also played it for my Aunt Rene’s funeral. I have been fortunate to watch the South West’s services on YouTube each week. I love the music. It has been so uplifting.
Douglas Hastie: VU 409 Morning Has Broken
*Standing by a Purpose True
A couple of my favorite hymns are Morning has Broken and an old Presbyterian one, Standing by a Purpose True (sometimes known as Dare to be a Daniel). The first time that I heard Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) sing Morning Has Broken was in the early 70’s. I was hooked and it became one of my favorites. It still is. When I was 9 or 10, I would sometimes stay after Sunday School and go to church with my Uncle George. My father had died several years earlier and my mother worked on Sunday at CJAD as the switchboard operator. It seemed like Standing by a Purpose True was the favorite of the minister as we seemed to sing it often. I remember belting it out while standing on the wooden floors in the old church.
Cheryl Runciman Mees: VU 703 In the Bulb There is a Flower
In the Bulb There is a Flower is one of my favourites because of the hope it offers. I especially love listening to it on bad days and in the winter.
Bruce Padgham: *I Come to the Garden Alone
I would like the hymn I Come to the Garden Alone in memory of my Grandmother Padgham. It was her favourite hymn.
*I Come to the Garden Alone
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet, the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me,
Within my heart is ringing.
Refrain
I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling.
Refrain
*Standing by a Purpose True
Standing by a purpose true,
heeding God’s command,
honor them, the faithful few!
All hail to Daniel’s band!
Refrain:
Dare to be a Daniel!
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known!
Many mighty men are lost,
daring not to stand,
who for God had been a host
by joining Daniel’s band. [Refrain]
Hold the gospel banner high;
on to vict’ry grand;
Satan and his host defy,
and shout for Daniel’s band. [Refrain]
To request a hymn for an upcoming service, contact :
Sarah: saromica@yahoo.ca
or the Office: Southwestunited@gmail.com
Support Circles for People of Colour
Source: United Church of Canada E-ssentials newsletter
Are you looking for support around experiences of racism in the United Church? Join other people of colour from across the church for a monthly time of sharing, support, and community-building.
These gatherings are open to people of colour (including those who identify as Indigenous, racialized, mixed-race, and/or non-White). To register, please complete this form.
When: Every third Thursday of the month (next gathering on January 20, 2022), 4:00-5:30 p.m. ET
[Image credit: Neil Thomas on Unsplash]
The Winter Hymn Project, Week 2
And is it ever winter! From snow storms to frigid days when the cold enters every fibre of our beings. It is achingly beautiful, the play of the moonlight on the clear palette of snow at dawn, to the sounds of trees yawning and cracking in the forest…
This week’s hymns come to us from our community of friends both close by and far away.
Dorothy Brown: MV 169 When Hands Reach Out Beyond Divides
Ronee and I always liked this one, both for the music and the words.
*Ronee was a church member, then a choir member too, sitting next to Dorothy as part of the all-female tenor section! She moved to Ottawa a year and a half ago – stripped of a proper send-off by Covid, though I still have plans to get her back for a Sunday this spring.
Linda Young: VU 664 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
We joined Southwest United on Woodland first in 1993 when we moved from Montreal East. Have always been associated with a United Church.
Our grandchildren were baptized at the Church on Woodland.
The Church has always been a center of my life. It represents Peace, Love among family and community. Thank you for using my song. It means a lot to me.
Sandra Thompson: MV 215 Peace Be With You
I would love for you to include this hymn that I love from the old Voices United, ‘I the Lord of Sea and Sky’ please, and if possible, my other favourite ‘Peace be with you, peace forever.’ Thank you ------- and to the congregation for not forgetting about me and especially keeping me in prayer. Miss all of you!
*I promised Sandra that we’d sing I the Lord of Sea and Sky again soon, but since we sang it last Sunday, we’d wait a few weeks!
Beryl and Angie Barraclough: VU 352 I Danced in the Morning
Some of my Mom's greatest stories were about dancing during the Blitz when the bombs were falling. She and her friends would all head to the Palace to dance. In honor of that memory, you played it at her funeral in February 2010. I'm sure she would have loved it.
The Winter Hymn Project: Week 1
The call went out for favourite hymns with a few words attached and we have our hymns for January 16!
Doug Hastie: VU 585 Jesus Bids Us Shine
One of my favourite hymns is “Jesus bids us shine.” I remember first singing it when I was 4 or 5 years old in the beginners’ department of Sunday School in the basement of the old First Presbyterian Church at 501 5th Ave. I say old because this was before the extension and new church was built. That hymn has been one of my favourites ever since. The hymn had actions to go with the singing but I have long forgotten them. Mabel Paul was the superintendent, Evelyn Gray was the pianist and Betty Shearer was my teacher.
Aline Sorel & Steve Scales: MV 157 I Am a Child of God
(Aline) We sang this together often, in happy times but in sad times too. I don’t know if it had a deeper meaning for us, it was that we sang it together. That’s what makes it such a memory for me.
Linda Dixon: VU 69 Away in a Manger
For me, this is what Christmas is all about. It just makes me feel good. I’ve loved it ever since I was a little girl in Sunday School at Chalmers United.
Bob Dixon: VU 509 I, the Lord of Sea and Sky
(Linda) This was sung at the service when Bob was licensed as a Lay Leader nearly 20 years ago. That meant so much to him. The hymn was new to us, and I remember Bob telling me before the service, “Wait till you hear this hymn, you’re going to love it”! I did, and it became one of Bob’s favourites.
Plymouth-Trinity United Provides Sanctuary
Georgina Flores, Manuel Rodriguez and their teenage son Manolo, who have lived in Sherbrooke, Quebec since 2018, were scheduled to be deported back to Mexico on November 8th. They had fled their native country because of threats from drug cartels. They believe they would face violence or even death if they return. Instead of reporting to the airport, they turned to their local United Church and asked for sanctuary.
Plymouth-Trinity United Church felt compelled to help. As they said in their official statement on November 9th, “We, the community of faith of Plymouth-Trinity are not wishing to contravene in the immigration laws of our country, but rather to tap into the ancient and canonical practice of offering sanctuary to people who are under threat or persecution.”
A little more than a week later, they have been working hard to make the family comfortable, and make the church more like a home where they can cook for themselves etc. Church leadership is reaching out to volunteers in the community to go shopping for groceries, or pick up and deliver food, or to donate grocery gift cards.
We will update as this story unfolds.
When the Monument was on Mullarkey
Earlier this month, when Pastor Beryl participated in Verdun Legion #4’s Remembrance Day, I was reminded of something I learned recently: the Cenotaph (statue in memory of the fallen in the two World Wars and the Korean War) did not always stand outside the Borough Hall at 1st Avenue.
It originally went up in 1924 in honour of the 1914-1918 war dead from Verdun, at the corner of Wellington Street and Mullarkey Avenue.
Where, you ask? It turns out the easternmost end of Lasalle Boulevard used to be called Mullarkey (see map). There’s still a triangular green space there, known as Parc Grenier. Wellington angles off to the right towards the Canadian Tire, Maxi and Point-St-Charles, and Lasalle Boulevard runs along the left side towards Atwater. That section of Lasalle starting at the park used to be called Mullarkey.
Apparently the name was changed around 1930, though I don’t know why. I also don’t know for sure who “Mullarkey” was that he got a street named after him, but it may well have been John. P. Mullarkey who was a railroad contractor in Montreal in the early years of the 20th Century.
The following information is from a website called waymarking.com
“This memorial was constructed by Coeur de Lion MacCarthy for the city of Verdun and is dedicated to the local war dead of the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. It was unveiled on 5 October 1924 by Jane Leavitt, a Verdun mother who lost three of her five sons in the First World War. This monument originally stood in a park at the corner of Wellington Street and Mullarkey Avenue (now LaSalle Boulevard) but was moved in front of the city hall in 1959. The Verdun Victory Memorial, designed and executed by McCarthy, artist-sculptor of Montreal, depicts a Canadian solder in an exultant attitude, his shrapnel helmet in hand and his rifle raised in the spirit of Victory. At the base of the monument is a female figure, symbolic of patriotism and peace, holding in her right hand the flags of Victory and supporting with her left hand a shield bearing the arms of the City of Verdun.”
Slideshow: Click on image to move to the next one. Pictures of Remembrance Day Ceremony (Nov. 7, 2021) are from the Verdun Legion #4 Facebook page.
