St. George's-in-the-pines Anglican Church



Today, St. George's is the oldest public building still in use in Banff.
Copies of the book (at right) are avialble for sale inside the entrance way of the church	The photo above was taken from the Book "St. George's-in-the-Pines - The Anglican Church in Banff - A Centennial Celebration", by Author John Whyte, a parishonier at St. George's, Banff in 1990.
The first Anglican worship service in Banff happened in 1887, in the log cabin on Bear Street which was the National Park headquarters. A resident clergyman, the Rev. Granville Christmas, was placed there a year later. In 1889 Lady Stanley, wife of Canada's Governor General, dedicated a cornerstone for the church, which was to be designed by Frank P. Oakley of Manchester, England. But lack of finances delayed construction, and it was not until 1897 that the chancel, the easternmost part of the church, was built, with its western end boarded up so that worship could be held inside. The parish erected a tent to hold the large summer congregations. The limestone for this work came from the Spray River quarry, across the river from the Banff Springs Hotel. Work began in 1901 on the first two bays of the nave (where the congregation sits). In 1906 a log bungalow rectory for the clergy was built on Buffalo Street below the church. Until then the clergy had boarded with the Park Superintendent. This log rectory was only replaced with a modern home in the early 1960's. Two further bays of the nave were built in 1906s and 1914, and during 1918-19 the final bay, west wall and porch were built as a memorial to those who lost their lives in World War I. The Bishop of Calgary, the Right Reverend William Pinkham, consecrated St. George's in June, 1920, thirty-one years after the laying of the cornerstone.

No one is certain how "in-the-Pines" became the church's familiar name. But a poem written by Canadian poet Bliss Carman during a visit to Banff in 1922, contained these lines referring to St. George, the patron saint of England: (the complete poem hangs in the parish lounge). Among the lonely snow-peaks where golden morning shines, Stands thy undaunted outpost among the lodge-pole pines. A little stone-build chapel as modest as can be, Touched with a loving glory, to house thy God and thee. There are few pines left at this writing, but a few years ago parishioners planted another outside the front door, perhaps to some day take over the shade duty of the ancient spruce.


	Clergy in the early years of St. George's also led evening services at the Banff Springs Hotel and the Sanitarium during the summer months, and year round served Anglicans living in Bankhead, the mining town on the shoulder of Cascade Mountain. Longest serving priest was Canon Tully Montgomery, who became rector in 1924 and with his wife Ruth served the parish for thirty years. "For twenty-five years, Tully climbed the narrow, steep stairs in the tower twice on Sundays to plunge on the clavier's hammers, rallying for funds for tower and spire and getting them built, installing the bells and playing
them, placing the windows in the chancel and over the west doors, beautifying the church's grounds, Canon Montgomery largely completed St. George's." St. George's-in-the-Pines Book, p. 29, 35 Lay leaders of note included Dr. Brett, and Norman Bethune Sanson, curator of the National Park Museum between 1900 and 1940. Sanson is better known today for his more than 1000 ascents of Sulphur Mountain, summer and winter, to recover weather data from its summit observatory and make naturalist observations on the way. Visitors to Banff today can see his tiny cabin on Sanson Peak, just north of the gondola station on Sulphur.


	Among many distinguished royal and Episcopal visitors over the years, one of the most treasured memories of St. George's parish is the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on Pentecost Sunday, May 29, 1939, attended by Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada. The pew used by the royal couple was later marked with a plaque commemorating the visit. It now stands alone in the chancel area, and often is used to seat the bride and groom at wedding celebrations. The present rector quite enjoys teasing American couples getting married that they are privileged to sit on the royal pew. At the end of that year the parish received from the King and Queen a pair of engraved silver candlesticks.
"The design of the entwined English rose and the Canadian Maple Leaf on the shafts give an added uniqueness to these treasured ornaments of the altar." St. George's-in-the-Pines - Book on p. 42 The candlesticks are often brought out from safekeeping for special services at Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Princess Margaret, sister of our present Queen, worshiped at St. George's in 1958.


Tapering gently from the ground, [the] graceful Rundle rock columns buttress the tower and lead the eye inevitable to the spire. Among tapering pines and spruces, its height mirrors the trees; its slender spire reflects the boldness and gentleness of Mt Rundle which is its proper backdrop. Until mid 1989 an ancient spruce which stood before it vied for prominence with the spire. The tree shaded and protected from rain the mingling parishioners which gathered under it before and after services, weddings and funerals. The widening of the street, and the trees height and age conspired against it: its weakness and isolation made it a threat to the bell tower, so it was cut down. It was probably the last sentinel, other than the cornerstone, to the site and the church in its hundredth year. St. George's-in-the-Pines, Book on p. 24f
	The final addition to the church building proper was the bell tower in 1926. Dr. Robert Brett, founder of the town's sanitarium and hospital and later Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, promised the parish a "peal of bells" as a memorial to his two sons. The steeple over the tower was donated by the pioneering Brewster family in memory of their mother, Isabella Thompson Brewster. The eleven bells, the largest weighing 1008 pounds and the smallest 140, were cast by John Taylor and Company, Bellfounders, in Loughborough, England, and shipped via the Panama Canal, arriving in 1927. They do not swing but are rigidly attached to steel beams and struck by clappers controlled by levers from the clavier just below them in the tower. Over the years since 1927 these bells have been very much a part of the life of Banff and St. George's.