By BONNIE LAWRENCE
Christ Church Patience Lake, one of the smallest remaining Bishop Lloyd style churches, welcomed over 90 visitors to an Open Church BBQ Fundraiser on July 18.
The people came from the local RM of Blucher, nearby RM of Aberdeen and Saskatoon. The attendees were a wide range of ages with many young people curious about this pioneer church built in 1908.
Hands on Heritage
As soon as you enter the oversized wooden door, the original wood panelled interior, lit by natural light streaming through the side and chancel windows, sets a scene from over a hundred years ago.
There is no electricity here but the ‘pump’ reed organ still plays hymns. The wooden furnishings with liturgical cloths all contribute to the ambience.
The open church event featured posters that show the life of the church over the decades and the history of the original gifts from England to this mission church.
Rich in documented history
The first minister to this church was Rev. Hedley Holmes, later the rector of St. George’s.
He was one of the first 40 student ministers recruited in England by Rev. G.E. Lloyd, the namesake of Lloydminister, minister to the Barr colonists and first Bishop of the College of Emmanuel St. Chad.
Christ Church Patience Lake church was the smallest of the three sizes of Anglican ‘ready to build’ wooden churches.
A generous British sponsor
Mrs. Jesse Roberts paid for the church materials, organ, and complete furnishings, dedicating the church to her late husband as the Walsham Memorial.
Rev. Holmes and his son, Rev. Arthur Holmes, maintained an active interest in the little rural church and early history.
This is where Hedley Holmes met and married his wife Elsie Lawley. Elsie’s brother Alan, a young apprentice, who worked on St. John’s Cathedral, added the distinctive chancel to this, his home church, in 1913.
Christ Church West Patience Lake was part of a three-point charge with St. Matthew’s of Sutherland, then a town near Saskatoon, and St. Helen’s West Patience Lake.
The Griffiths family homesteaded in the Patience Lake area. The father (Dave) contributed to the building of both rural churches and young ‘Joe’ Griffiths, namesake of Griffths’ Stadium and first professor of athletics at the University of Saskatchewan, would organize the races and ball games for the Church picnics of the joint St. Helen’s and Christ Church congregations. Scratch the surface and there is a story.
A New Foundation Needed
The very prominent location at the crossroads of Highway 5 and Highway 316 meant the church was moved off its original stone foundation to make way for a service road in 1969, and now the replacement concrete blocks are cracking.
Unfortunately, the repair work has a modern price tag.
The committee that oversees this designated heritage property is determined to raise funds and can issue charity tax receipts for donations to the cause. Donations can be received by either cheque or cash to the Treasurer or e-transfer to our Committee bank account. A Go Fund Me page under the following name exists to allow for credit card donations. Email: 5and316heritagechurch@gmail.com.