On October 13th, 2013 the
100 Year Anniversary of St. Michael's Anglican Church in Merritt BC was celebrated by a special service and other festivities.
Construction of the church began in the spring of 1913. Newspaper clippings of March 28, 1913 tell us that plans had been drawn by architects Honeyman & Curtis of Vancouver and construction was to begin forthwith. The building was to be 50 X 22 feet, 65 feet long overall, with the addition of a baptistry and vestry.
Another newspaper clipping, from February 27, 1914 indicates that the church was holding services and that the Knights of Pythias paraded to the church on the previous Sunday in connection with their golden jubilee celebrations.
The church was operated in conjunction with St. John the Baptist Church in Nicola, the two sharing a vicar. St. John the Baptist is the earlier of the two churches, having been built in 1899. Prior to the twentieth century, Nicola was the commercial hub of the area, being overtaken by Merritt after 1900. By 1914 St. Michael's became the centre of parish work. It remains an active church to this day.
I've noticed an oddity with Anglican churches. They ofttimes tend to place crosses and bell towers toward the rear of the roof, whereas the norm is to place them at the front. Why would that be?
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