Chinook in the news: NVMA re the dedication of a church in Merritt, BC
Chinook Jargon was there. I lifted this from a recent Facebook post by the excellent Nicola Valley Museum & Archives in Merrit, BC. Enjoy!
Happy Easter! Today we’ll take a look at the construction of the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Soon after the arrival of Father Michael Kearney in 1971, there began a movement within the parish to build a new church in Merritt. Funds started to be gathered in 1972, although it grew little by little for years. When Ed Rollheiser was placed in charge of this fund, he set a goal to raise enough money to tear down the old church and build a new church and hall. A new committee was formed to quickly raise the funds in the fall of 1977. Maintenance on the 68-year-old building was ceased to save money, and fundraisers were held over the following months, and come Spring 1978 they had hit their goal for $200,000 ($900,000 in today’s money). The new church would have much more seating to provide for the larger parish, separate rooms for instruction or to be rented out, a kitchen to provide catering services, and to create a link between the rectory building and the church itself.
On July 21st, 1978, Sacred Heart held its last service in the old building. A packed house attended the final service, which was administered by Bishop Adam Exner, Father Michael Kearney, and the former priest of Sacred Heart, Father Joseph Connellen. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the bell that had been donated by the Mary Garcia rang out for the last time at the old church, and the next day the demolition of the church took place. For the period of the construction, the congregation moved to the basement of the rectory next door, where they stayed until the new church was completed.
Over the next year, construction moved swiftly. It began in August 1978, by October 1978, the walls had nearly been completed. By November the tresses for the roof were being put in place, and by May 1979, the Garcia’s bell was replaced in the tower, and the church was set to open its doors. The hope in the design of the building was to allow it to better suit the neighbourhood and to get away from the more traditional medieval style of church design. During the construction, a group of parishioners, backed by financial contributions from all over Merritt, commissioned David Millar, a UBC professor and world-renowned stained-glass window artist, to design and create the stained-glass windows at the church. The design created by David Millar was meant to represent the themes of the industries of the Nicola Valley, such as ranching, mining, and forestry.
The costs for the construction ran over $250,000, however due to the donations and contributions from many local businesses, such as Craigmont Mines donating the copper for the tower, Douglas Lake Ranch and the Rose Ranch donating the chandeliers, and the lumber mills donating the wood, the project ended up coming in under budget. Many other local and regional businesses contributed to the construction such as Hub Electrical, Jorge’s Furniture and Flooring, Copper Valley Mechanical, R&R Painting, and Merritt Building Supplies.
On May 6th, 1979, the doors on the new Church were opened by Father Kearney after receiving the keys from Bishop Exner, and again the church was packed as the parishioners came to have mass in their new church. Two of the parishioners, Fred McGoran and Harry Collett, had attended the first mass held at the old church in 1911. Along with the opening of the new church, a time capsule was placed in the garden of the church, under the replica cast of the church bell. In it, it contained a number of copies of old church documents such as notes from Father James Wagner in 1911, pages from the Kamloops Wawa newspaper from 1898 that describe the opening of a new church at Kenim Lake, and even some excerpts from the museum’s Nicola Valley Historical Quarterlies. [A great publication! — DDR]
A piece of the old Sacred Heart church still exists here at the museum! The old circular window that was once above the main entrance, is today on display at the Nicola Valley Museum & Archives.
Below are a number of photos, the first is of the last mass held in the old Sacred Heart church, the second photo is of the trusses of the new church being put in place, the third photo is of the bell being prepared to be lifted into the tower, and the final photo is of the crowd gathered outside during the opening of the Church.
The NVMA will be closed Tuesday, April 7th in lieu of being open for Good Friday. Therefore we will be open from Wednesday April 8th until Saturday. if you have any questions about the history of Merritt or the Nicola Valley please stop on by, give us a phone call, or send us an email!
