St. Michael's Cathedral - Kelowna, BC - Bookcrossing Zones on Waymarking.com

The only cathedral in Kelowna, we could say that it is also the only cathedral in Kelowna that is a BookCrossing Zone. This came about with the release of Pilgrim, by Timothy Findley, on Wednesday, June 04, 2003.

The cornerstone for this cathedral was laid on July 30th, 1911 and construction was completed in 1913. Built as a church and dedicated as a Cathedral in 1987, the historic building replaced the first Anglican Church in Kelowna. It was designed by architect Wesley A. Peters and constructed by Harry W. Raymer, the same duo that had designed and built the impressive Knox Presbyterian Church at 721 Bernard Avenue two years earlier, in 1909. Though not original, the building now has many commemorative stained glass windows, replacing the original leaded glass over the years.

The Cathedral was designated a heritage site on March 20, 2000, and listed on the Canadian Register on March 7, 2009.

Some of its history from its website:
"By 1908 land on the current site had been acquired, and a local architect, W. A. Peters, was chosen to design the building. The fine new building, of local sandstone with granite trim, was consecrated on June 13, 1913, and continues in use to the present day.

This bright beginning was followed by the outbreak of World War I, and by its end the parish had lost forty-seven members of the congregation. But the parish recovered from this blow, and through the ‘20’s and ‘30’s planted new congregations in the Okanagan, and became renowned for its Boys’ Choir.

Again, after WW II, the parish renewed, and in 1949 built the Parish Hall that served Kelowna so well for so many years, giving the town a first-class gymnasium and stage. A rectory was built on the site in 1956.

The ‘60’s and ‘70’s proved a difficult time for St. Michael’s as it did for so many “mainline” churches. The renewal movement that resulted saw changes made to both the church interior and to worship practices, so as to reflect an emerging view of the spiritual relationship that church membership involves.

In 1987 St. Michael’s was named the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Kootenay. (Formerly the pro-cathedral had been located in Nelson). The Cathedral has served as home to three bishops: the Right Reverend Fraser Berry; The Most Reverend David Crawley, who was also Archbishop of British Columbia and for a time the Acting Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and our current Bishop, the Right Reverend John Privett.

The first Dean of the Cathedral was the then incumbent of St. Michael’s, the Very Reverend Jack Greenhalgh. When he retired in 2000, Archbishop Crawley, with the support of the selection committee, appointed Allan Reed as Dean of Kootenay and Incumbent of the Cathedral. When Dean Reed retired in January of 2009, Bishop Privett appointed a Bishop's Personnel Commission to conduct the search for a replacement. This resulted in the appointment of Nissa Basbaum as Dean of the Cathedral, effective November 26, 2009."