A Centennial Celebration was held at the Vancouver Meeting House on Sunday the 6th of November, 2011, in honour of the founding of Vancouver Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in November of 1911. Approximately one hundred and fifty written invitations were mailed to everyone on the Meeting list, and the event was attended by approximately 70 people. Our Meeting for Worship was blessed with a warm and deep sense of spirit; The metaphor of a tree wove through much of the ministry. This included the image of Vancouver Meeting being like a one hundred year old tree which has gone through many cycles of dormancy and new life, the leaves springing forth and falling away representing the many lives which have come and gone throughout the life of the Meeting. We were enriched by the presence of many of our elders, some of whom can’t always make it to Meeting on a regular basis, as well as many of our children and teens.
After the rise of Meeting we held hands upstairs and gave thanks for our many blessings and acknowledged the Musqueum First Nation upon whose unceded territory our Meeting House stands, in addition to the Squamish First Nation and the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation on whose traditional territories the City of Vancouver lies, as well as other Coast Salish peoples on whose traditional territories our worship groups meet. We also thanked our elders who help guide us and the children who are our future. This was followed by a shared meal, after which we gathered upstairs for a group photo, before cutting in to the beautiful cakes which commemorated this very significant birthday. After the meal, we enjoyed some singing together. During the singing, one Friend suggested a spontaneous visit to Occupy Vancouver to sing and donate all of our leftover food, which we did. Six Friends were introduced as the Quaker Choir”, and sang two songs on the stage.
A historical timeline banner was created to commemorate the Centennial, which documents some of the history of Vancouver Meeting from 1883 – 2006. Some Friends brought writings or objects reflecting their thoughts about what Vancouver Meeting may be like one hundred years from now, or what their connection with Quakers has meant to them in their lives. One Friend created a beautiful Centennial quilt to commemorate the occasion. Our intention is to photocopy the writing and photograph the objects for the Archives, and to put the originals in a box, to be buried under a (centennial) tree, probably next Spring.
Ruth Walmsley
Inessa Ormond
Rob Hughes
Comments on this entry are closed.