Anglicans and others will soon gather at what remains of the Jasper Anglican Church to remember the building and its role in the community.
Also known as the St. Mary & St. George Anglican Church, the historic building was one of 358 structures burned down by the Jasper wildfire.
Treasurer Bryn Thomas had accompanied Team Rubicon as they entered the site on Sunday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. This was around the time he would have been going for morning prayer.
“It was a bizarre, surreal experience, very difficult tool to put into words,” Thomas said. “It was just heartbreaking to see what was there in comparison to what used to be there, to which I’m just very familiar with, of course, having been a church member for many years.”
Although Team Rubicon sifted through the debris, the heat was so great that hardly anything was recognizable. Thomas had hoped the church bell would have survived but to no avail.
“It had melted to about the size of a Christmas pudding,” he said. “I could not believe it. I just couldn’t believe what I was looking at.”
History of church
The building was originally donated in 1928 by an anonymous donor, revealed after her death to be Marion Beatrice Smith of Bournemouth, England. It served as a memorial to her son, who died in the First World War and had intended to serve as a priest in this diocese following the war.
The church was based on a blueprint for a 14th century English Gothic church, designed by A.M. Calderon of Edmonton and built with local materials. The Edith Cavell Memorial Tower, named after the heroic British nurse, was added in 1932 to complete the church.
Rev. David Prowse, who is retired but up until the fire had still been an honorary assistant for the parish and helped train laypeople to officiate services, first came to Jasper in 1944 as a preschooler. He was ordained in the Jasper Anglican Church when he finished seminary and went on to serve in various places before moving back to Jasper in 2001 to serve there.
“I just wanted to prove you can go home again,” Prowse joked.
Along with many other Jasper residents, he had been evacuated to Valemount, B.C. and had stayed there for a couple of nights before seeing the church going up in flames on television.
“Everything in that block burned down,” Prowse said. “[It] all went down on the same night, and it was a real shock to see that happening.”
Prowse has since been living with his sister in Edmonton but hopes to move back to Jasper eventually.
“It certainly was an historic building and [had] a lot of history behind it,” he said. “It has been a very special building.”
St. Mary & St. George was one of the most popular ecclesiastical venues for weddings in the Rocky Mountains and a point of interest for tourists. In 1985, the Alberta Ministry of Culture declared the church a historic resource.
In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the Jasper Anglican Church where the Duke of Edinburgh gave a reading from 2 Corinthians to a Sunday congregation. That day, Prowse conducted the service along with Bishop Victoria Mathews.
“I invited the bishop to come out and preach that Sunday, and it made things a bit easier and lighter for me on that weekend, but we had a considerable experience with them visiting here and security and other things,” Prowse said. “[It was] an interesting experience all around for the parish and for the community.”
'It's an icon'
The church had been not just a place of worship but was also involved in helping refugees from Syria and Ukraine. In addition, it hosted the Jasper Food Bank and concerts.
On top of that, St. Mary & St. George had been an iconic landmark. Thomas noted how the tragedy sometimes brought up comparisons to the Notre-Dame fire and efforts to rebuild the cathedral.
“And why are they rebuilding it? Well, because it’s an icon. It’s part of the part of the city’s history, it’s what people expect to be there and in a smaller way – much smaller way, of course – [it’s the] same thing with our little church,” he said. “It’s an icon for the residents and for visitors, and it’s an integral part of our history. It’s not just the focus of our small Anglican parish."
He described how several people had come up to him to share their distress at the loss of the church, even though many of them had likely never stepped inside the building before.
“It’s a presence in the town, a physical indication of stability and longevity,” Thomas said. “It’s a presence just like the Notre Dame is for the Parisians.”
As for whether the church will be rebuilt, Thomas said that was ultimately the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton’s decision. He added they were currently securing a place for the congregation to worship on Sundays.
The remembrance service will be held just outside the fenced-off property at the corner of Miette Avenue and Geike Street on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 10:30 a.m. Rev. Prowse and Bishop Stephen London will be in attendance, and members of the public are welcome to attend.