by Gail Whiteford and The Aberhart Advocate’s Elaine Han
Although the Anglican Parish of Holy Cross was formed in Banff Trail only 22 years ago, the history of the two once separate parishes began over a century ago.
In 1909, the Anglican Parish of St. Michael and All Angels was established in Crescent Heights as a response to the City of Calgary’s continuous expansion. The parish was named in honour of the Archangel St. Michael, slayer of the serpent, and patron saint of police officers, paramedics, and the military. The first service was held in the home of a Mr. Kane on 11 Avenue NW. On St. Thomas Day later that year, a dedicated St. Michael and All Angels building at 3 Street and 16 Avenue NW was opened, officiated by Bishop Cyprian Pinkham, Bishop of Calgary at the time. For the next 85 years at this location, the parish grew and flourished as a community, making many new additions to their building. Notably, in 1920 a memorial stained-glass window was dedicated to honour the 17 men of the parish who had been killed in action in WW1.
In 1923, Mrs. Lillian Crook and Mrs. Joe Davis, began teaching Sunday School in the Davis home on 19 Avenue NW in Capitol Hill in 1923. As the number of children attending the Sunday School increased, it became obvious that a dedicated hall was needed for future classes. In 1925, St. Cyprian’s Hall, named in honour of Bishop Cyprian Pinkham, was opened on 15 Street and 20 Avenue NW and consecrated as a mission to St. Barnabas Church in Hillhurst. The Bishop was named “Cyprian” was in honour of St Cyprian, a Bishop in Carthage in the year 230 who was martyred by the Roman consul when he was beheaded for refusing to give up his faith. In 1952, the growing community within St. Cyprian’s Mission Church became a parish in its own right. In 1961, St. Cyprian’s Parish constructed and opened a new church on 19 Street and 28 Avenue NW (later renamed Canmore Road) to accommodate their growing needs. The old property on 20 Avenue became the Provincial Command of the Royal Canadian Legion and remains there to this day.
Although rumors of such had begun as early as 1986, in 1996, the City of Calgary began developing plans to widen 16 Ave NW. The St. Michael and All Angels Church was one of the many buildings slated for demolition. Discussions began about amalgamating, or uniting, the two Anglican parishes of St. Michael and All Angels and St. Cyprian’s in the Banff Trail area. A joint family picnic was held that year so that both congregations could meet. In 1997, after extensive discussion, the two parishes offered their members a vote that would determine their union. The vote results showed 277 to 6 in favor of uniting. On October 5, 1997, the official amalgamation of the two parishes took place, and all activities of St. Michael’s Parish moved to St. Cyprian’s Church. In 2003, the St. Michael building was sold to the City of Calgary and demolished.
In 1998, a vote was held to choose a new name for the new united parish. Of 47 names that were suggested, 6 were presented for parishioners to vote from. On March 1, 1998, the new parish was formally named the Anglican Parish of Holy Cross, and the St. Cyprian’s Church building became known as Holy Cross Anglican Church. The Archbishop J. Barry Curtis declared “Holy Cross” a perfect name, as the cross is a joining of two individual pieces of wood to create a whole and holy cross.
Since the amalgamation of the two parishes, the church now contains the two stained glass windows (the WW1 memorial window and the window of the Ascension) from the old St. Michael’s Church. New renovations to the current Church were completed in 2015, adding an elevator, the stained-glass windows, and other expansions to the church building to accommodate a larger, more active population.
The Anglican Parish of Holy Cross will be celebrating the 22nd anniversary of their amalgamation this year, and the community could not be more united. The parish currently holds weekly services on Sundays and Wednesdays and has many local initiatives. This year’s projects include a food drive for St. Edmund’s Food Bank, assisting the Brenda Strafford Society for the Prevention of Domestic violence, and fundraising for Brown Bags for Kids through “The Birthday Box”.
The parish also services four different Senior Care homes with the assistance of parishioner volunteers. The Church space is used by many other organizations as well, including a Montessori School, and the 31st St. Cyprian’s Scout’s Group who have a Christmas tree lot behind the church every Christmas. With an active Sunday School, hand-bell choir, choir, care home ministry, theology club, book club and library group, as well as a busy Anglican Church Women’s Group, these two once separate communities have formed a cohesive family of church members.
Events open to the community include a May Strawberry Tea, Candy Cane Bazaar in November, Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner, Soup and Bread Lunch to support Primate’s World Relief Development Fund.
For further reading on the history of Holy Cross Anglican Church: Our Shared History: Holy Cross Anglican Church, Calgary by David Peyto.
Many thanks to Elisabeth McDonald and David Peyto for their help and input into this article.
