On September 18th, 2021, St. Alban’s celebrated the 100th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone. To kick off the 100th anniversary celebrations, a commemorative walk from Christ Church, Dartmouth to St. Alban’s was held on September 18th. This walk recreated the walk that the choir, clergy, and well-wishers did 100 years ago (to the day!), when they came to St. Alban’s for the laying of the cornerstone ceremony.
When the walkers arrived, they met more parishioners outside for a service at the cornerstone. The Rev. Marian Lucas-Jeffries used the original order of service to allow the congregation to re-live the service from that day, 100 years ago.
Following the service, the congregation entered the church for the opening of the time capsule from the 90th anniversary. It was a meaningful, impactful day, recreating history.
The celebrations continued on Sunday, Sept 19th with the anniversary worship service. The church was filled to capacity (within the public health restrictions). Bishop Sandra Fyfe was the guest preacher. Former St. Alban’s clergy, Revs. Frances Drolet-Smith and Jane Clattenburg both took part in the service. Primate Linda Nicholls sent a video greeting, which was played at the beginning of the service. There was a special anniversary bulletin with a hundredth anniversary prayer and a souvenir ribbon. The music selections all came from past anniversary celebrations.
The anniversary celebrations were certainly smaller than in a pre-covid world. The Historical Committee plans to hold events throughout the entire 100th year, as public health restrictions hopefully lessen.
