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Welcome to the St. Gerard's Catholic Church Community!

When and where is Sunday Mass?

Sunday Mass is at 10:30 a.m. St. Gerard's church is located at 1111 Miller Rd., Bowen Island, BC. It's on the corner of Melmore Rd. and Miller Rd., across the street from the park trail to Killarney Lake. From the Bowen Island ferry or the Snug Cove public wharf or marinas, St. Gerard's is just a 1 km walk or drive away. This Bowen Island map shows the main route and scenic walking route. You'll find St. Gerard's in the northwest corner of this Lower Mainland parish map of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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What's new at St. Gerard's?

Sister Jo, who has been in Canada this summer, enjoyed doing Africa Outreach presentations for the people of St. Gerard's on July 15 and August 26.

The winning ticket for the 2007 St. Gerard's Raffle was drawn on August 26. St. Gerard's pioneer Patricia Wright, an accomplished quiltmaker, had crafted and donated the prize, a whimsical Serengeti quilt depicting wildlife of the great plains of Kenya and Tanzania, as shown below. The delighted winner was Carson Sothy of Semiahmoo, Washington, Sister Jo's 3-year-old grandnephew. Carson reports, "It's on my bed. I love it."

In memoriam Tom Donnelly

Tom Donnelly, beloved long-time member of St. Gerard's, passed on from this life on February 16, 2007. The funeral took place at Holy Trinity Church on February 23. Diana Taylor and Eileen Richter read scripture readings, and Hugh Stark delivered a fine eulogy. A gentle gentleman, Tom was remarkably generous. Special condolences to Eva Donnelly, Tom's wife of over 52 years.

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What's the history of St. Gerard's?

When Bowen Island was a holiday resort, priests from Holy Rosary Cathedral came to Bowen Island each summer Sunday to say Mass. The venues included the school, a dance hall, and Union Steamships' Evergreen Hall. Around 1960, Bowen Island Catholic Christians set out to build a church, with neighbourly help from fellow islanders. In the early 1960s, Father Gerard Beauregard, who lived with the destitute at the Catholic Charities men's hostel and worked with the homeless in Downtown Vancouver, began serving the Bowen community. Father Beauregard was devout, ebullient, brilliant, eccentric, and deeply good. He loved the island and the islanders, and he was inspired by the project. After reaching Bowen by bus and ferry, he would hike to Evergreen Hall with his backpack and black bag, engaging in animated conversation with whomever he met.
  

Above, Fr. Beauregard pauses near the lagoon to chat with Ernie Peerless, a non-Catholic. Above centre, Fr. Beauregard approaches Evergreen Hall, ready to say Mass in the morning and then start clearing the lot on the corner of Miller and Melmore in the afternoon. Years later, above right, his smile still says it all.

The just-visible figure near the top left corner of the first photo below is Father Beauregard in logging gear, part way up an alder on the St. Gerard's site. With him but out of sight, there's a small work party he'd enlisted after Mass.
 

After the Bowen Catholics had saved up the building costs, the wooden church rose like a fitting part of the landscape on the corner of Miller and Melmore.

 
The people named their new spiritual home in honour of Saint Gerard Majella, Father Beauregard's baptismal patron. On September 5, 1971, the first Mass was celebrated at St. Gerard's. Afterwards, some of the congregation stayed for a photo in front of the church. They are listed like this:

Front row, left to right: Fr. Gerard Beauregard, Sister Philomena Gallant, Mooney boy, Mrs. Augusta Paterson, Sister Loretta McDonald, Sister Jean Mulvaney, Debbie Dumaresq, other Mooney boy. Back row: Mr. Mooney, Mr. Harry Wright, Mrs. Ellen Dorman, Mrs. Agneta Wright, Mrs. Dawn Gunn, Mr. Sam Dumaresq.

On June 18, 1972, Archbishop James Carney consecrated St. Gerard's church.

During the construction, Fr. Beauregard crafted the sturdy tabernacle from his hand-laminated wood. Meanwhile, Harry Wright spent hundreds of hours carving the crucifix entirely in one piece from a yellow cedar driftwood log from the shore of Deep Bay, Bowen Island. From another cedar log, Mr. Wright carved the original "St. Gerard's Catholic Church" sign, which is still there, nestled among the ferns near the church entrance and completing its cycle of life.

St. Gerard's member Camilla Roberts noticed something that was missing: a Way of the Cross. Mrs. Roberts, who combined a mobility disability with artistic ability and commitment, began painting the 14 Stations from her wheelchair. In June 1977, she presented St. Gerard's with our unique Stations of the Cross.
 

Others contributed other talents. Years before the construction began, Alex Rankin, Sam Dumaresq, and John Mayberry had persuaded the Union Steamships' realty arm to "sell" us our corner lot for one dollar. Ellen Dorman, revered on Bowen Island as an angel of mercy, did much to earn wide support. Along with the islanders' good will, prodigious efforts by the St. Gerard's community made the annual Strawberry Tea at Collins Hall remarkably successful. One example of our "unsung heroes" was Mrs. Augusta (Gussie) Paterson, who baked a tableful of apple pies for each Strawberry Tea until past eighty. Others, like the maker of the evocative IHS cross above the church entrance, are anonymous. With dedication and generosity, St. Gerard's was soon able to take another step (above centre), adding our little rectory.

The written accounts of the early days are sketchy, and the pioneer leaders mentioned here have passed on, but much from their work remains.

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What's happening nowadays?

Today, St. Gerard's remains a welcoming, vibrant Christian faith community of Bowen Islanders, seasonal residents, and visitors, plus relatives and friends.

Almost every Sunday, we have coffee after Mass, along with juice and cookies, in the gathering area at the back of the church. Everyone, especially visitors and newcomers, is very welcome to join in.

According to the capacity group of participants, the September 2006 retreat at Rivendell Retreat Centre, Bowen Island, was a big success, and there will be another retreat in 2008. Church maintenance and improvements are ongoing, and many members of the St. Gerard's community choose to volunteer for the work parties, although there is no pressure to do so. (And no logging.)

In the past year, volunteers completed the renovation of the rectory kitchen, which is now said to be "a joy to work in." They also modified the side windows in the church so that the lower parts open, allowing a welcome cross-breeze on hot days. Meanwhile, Brad Ovenell-Carter and helpers built a new brick walk from the church to the rectory, a great improvement over the old path. Led by Bob Lewis, the extensive rectory renovations are ongoing.

The other large project in recent years was the installation in the church loft of the set of organ pipes, made in 1901, for our "new" organ. It was acquired from a Christian church in Vancouver but was originally used to accompany silent films in a movie theatre. The quality of the organ was evident in a sacred music recital by Darryl Nixon (below right) of St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church, Vancouver.
 

At the front of the loft, we now have a stained glass window from an 1840s-built Church of England church in Coventry, UK. Former Bowen Islanders Eleanor and Iain Benson had managed to acquire it and install it in their home. When the Bensons decided to live near Lourdes, France, they removed the stained glass window from their Bowen house and contributed it to their church, St. Gerard's.

While we miss Eleanor and Iain and their seven children, we're glad we received their window (below right). Beneath the image of a young priest holding a small child for an infant baptism are the words "For such is the kingdom of God." It is a phrase from Mark 10:13-16, a passage in which the disciples are impatient with the little children but Jesus opens his arms to them.
 

Africa outreach with Sister Jo

We at St. Gerard's open our arms to children in need by supporting the work of Sister Jo Wright, RSCJ, in Africa. Sister Jo, who has a long association with us, is based in Eldoret, Kenya. She travels widely to assist the sisters in many communities in Kenya and Uganda as a leadership team member.

St. Gerard's children have raised funds for the Sisters' Uganda-Kenya Solidarity Fund by selling lemonade and even eggs. When we asked Sister Jo for a photo for this website, she sent the above photo of children at St. Bernadette's Primary (Elementary) School, Nakibizzie, Uganda. She included this commentary:

When I was in Uganda, I often drove our Sisters who teach at St. Bernadette's to school in the morning. As we approached the school, we would see the children running along, many of them barefoot, with colourful plastic mugs in their hands. Many of the children do not have breakfast before setting off for school and do not have food for lunch, so the school provides them with maize porridge for lunch. A number of these children are sponsored for their school fees through our Solidarity Fund. When we receive donations from friends such as St. Gerard's Catholic Church, Bowen Island, these donations go into the Solidarity Fund. Then, when needy children come to our attention, as far as possible we assist them. For example, when Sr. Liz, the head teacher, noticed a young boy standing at a classroom window each day, she spoke to him. His family could not afford school fees, and all he asked was to be allowed to stand at the window and listen to the lessons being taught. As you can imagine, we investigated his situation, and the boy was enabled to join the school.

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Which priests serve St. Gerard's?

St. Gerard's is affiliated with Holy Trinity Parish, North Vancouver, and we're delighted to share the parish clergy, mainly Fr. Tom Smith. Holy Trinity pastor Fr. Jim Comey joins us once a month. Father Varghese George Edattukaran, who mercifully goes by "Fr. George," is shown below at a goodbye gathering after he was transferred to another parish. Fr. George is looking forward to leading the next St. Gerard's retreat at Rivendell Retreat Centre in 2008.
 

St. Gerard's contacts

St. Gerard's information: New to Bowen Island or St. Gerard's? Comments about this St. Gerard's Website? Other questions? Email StGerards@rcav.bc.ca. Please indicate your topic in your subject line.

Clergy and parish office: Phone 604.988.6304. Or visit the Holy Trinity office, which also serves St. Gerard's, for additional contact information.

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Links

Prayer: Pause in the Sacred Space or explore spirituality with the Irish Jesuits. Sing along with hymn words and music from St. Gerard's Choir, Singapore. Start a 34-week online retreat with Creighton University Online Ministries, Nebraska. Or renew yourself with a 1-minute C'mon Back Story from Wisconsin.

The B.C. Catholic online: The B.C. Catholic, the Archdiocese of Vancouver's weekly paper, aims to serve the needs of the Catholic community in BC.  Note: The B.C. Catholic site includes a set of St. Gerard's articles.

For kids: Get to know My Friend, online Catholic magazine for kids; "Jesus is my friend." Or, just for fun, see if you can fly a helicopter. 

Catholic information: Questions about the Catholic faith? The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) page addresses frequently asked questions.

Catholic Calendar: Combine daily scripture readings with guided reflections.

Encyclicals: Papal Encyclicals Online is a guide to online papal and official documents of the Catholic Church.

Sisters of the Sacred Heart: This Sisters of the Sacred Heart site (in Japan, as it happens) provides interesting content about Sister Jo's religious society.

Christianity in stained glass: Click on the thumbnail images to appreciate the stained glass windows of Holy Rosary Cathedral and the Let There Be Light site.

Zulu sculpture: Receive cross-cultural inspiration with the Most Holy Trinity
sculptures and Stations of the Cross carved in thombothi wood by Joel Mbuyisa for Sacred Heart of Jesus church, Mangete, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Bowen churches: The Bowen Island Municipality site and BowenOnline list Bowen Island churches. Besides St. Gerard's, Bowen Island Christian churches with websites include Cates Hill Chapel and Bowen Island Community Church.

Catholic Churches near Bowen: Other Catholic churches near Howe Sound (where Bowen Island is located) include the North and West Vancouver parishes, the Sunshine Coast parishes, and St. Joseph's, Squamish.

Good day to visit? Check the Bowen Island  weather forecast. In any case, with a visit to Bowen and/or St. Gerard's, it can be a good day for you.

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Why Mission?

Our church community is officially called St. Gerard's Mission, the name on the newer of the two St. Gerard's signs in front of the church. People ask about it.

Many dioceses use the term mission for churches that are not full parishes. In that sense, St. Gerard's has always been a mission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. The concept of mission also appealed to Fr. Gerard Beauregard, who saw his role as that of a missionary, especially to the homeless of Downtown Vancouver.

The word mission has the same Latin root, miss-, as Mass, which comes from the word missa in Ite missa est. That phrase, the priest's final words in the traditional Latin Mass, is an idiom that freely translates as "Go, you are sent." Since our Christian community is called a mission, our name is a reminder that we are sent to be witnesses to God's love, to carry on Christ's work.
 

We, the Christian community of Saint Gerard's Catholic church, Bowen Island, invite you to come to our church. And to share in our mission.

Copyright © 2007 St. Gerard's Mission, Bowen Island, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
This Saint Gerard's Catholic Christian Church website was last updated on March 23, 2008. 

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