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The present St, Lawrence congregation is comprised of two former congregations of Trinity Anglican Church and St. Peter’s Anglican Church. We continue to worship in the former St. Peter’s Church. Trinity Church was built in 1877 and had an active ministry until amalgamation in 2007. The former members of both churches now minister together to reach out in love to the Brockville community as we have done for 200 years.
In April of 1825, the Hon. Charles Jones gave the land for the present church building, and on April 20, 1826, the cornerstone was laid for this church which was designed and built under the direction of the Irishman, Arthur McClean. Beset by money problems, the construction took five years. On April 17, 1831, The Rev. William Hodson Gunning conducted the first service, and on August 31, 1834, The Rt. Rev. Charles James Stuart, Lord Bishop of Quebec, consecrated our church “to the Service of Almighty God.” Sometime before 1854, the white parging was applied to the church exterior. A section of the underlying stone has been exposed and can be viewed when looking at the church entrance and tower, as well as from the courtyard.
For two hundred years Saint Lawrence congregation has been an active, praying, and caring community with an ongoing tradition of Anglican worship and a commitment to sharing and celebrating Christ’s love in the Parish, in the community and in the world.
Saint Lawrence was a Roman deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put to death, Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.
A well-known legend has persisted from earliest times. As deacon in Rome, Lawrence was charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the Church, and the distribution of alms to the poor. When Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, he sought out the poor, widows and orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum. When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that the Christians must have considerable treasure. He sent for Lawrence and said, “You Christians say we are cruel to you, but that is not what I have in mind. I am told that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, that you have golden candlesticks at your evening services. Now, your doctrine says you must render to Caesar what is his. Bring these counted: He brought none of it into the world with him-only words. Give me the money, therefore, and be rich in words.”
Lawrence replied that the Church was indeed rich. “I will show you a valuable part. But give me time to set everything in order and make an inventory.” After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”
The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die-but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it. St. Lawrence was martyred on August 10, 258 AD.
The beautiful pipe organ at St Lawrence Church was built in 1933 by the famous Casavant Frères organ company of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. It replaced a smaller instrument that was situated in the gallery. The three manual electropneumatic instrument has a selection of 37 stops in four divisions with more than 2000 pipes. It was partially rebuilt in 1981 by François Caron.
The Swell division speaks directly toward the organ console; one can see the enclosing shutters at eyelevel. It has a glorious set of reeds at unison, octave and sub-octave pitch which are ideal for playing romantic repertoire. It contains a full complement of Diapason stops (the most common organ pipe sound) as well as flutes and a string-style gamba with celeste.
The Great division is ideal for congregation singing with its Principal (or Diapason) chorus and a lovely chorus trumpet as well as flutes at unison and octave pitch. Its pipes speak directly into the nave from the upper left side of the organ case. All the divisions have a mixture stop – a set of 3 or 4 rows of pipes which at once speak at various higher pitches than the unison or fundamental sound, presenting a soundscape unique to the organ.
The Choir division contains a variety of interesting colour stops, including a Fanfare Trumpet added in the 1981 rebuild. It has some enchanting Baroque-style sounds, including a Sesquialtera (with sound the fifth and third a few octaves above unison), as well as a clarinet for English 19th and 20th c. repertoire. From the middle of the church, one may see the Choir (also enclosed with shutters) at the back top corner of the organ case. At the very top, notice especially the horizontal pipes of the Fanfare Trumpet.
The Pedal division is underneath and around the Great. It contains a full Principal chorus of stops speaking at 16′, 8′ and 4′ (meaning sub-octave, unison and octave) pitch. Other pedal stops include reeds and flutes as well as a 10 and 2/3 stop which gives an effect of two octaves below unison pitch, creating a satisfying vibration throughout the church building.
The organ console has pistons which work on air pressure to select a group of stops at a time. These are found under the keyboard beds. It also contains a full complement of couplers which allow the divisions to be interconnected. Two large foot pedals open and close the shutters.
If you are interested in obtaining further information, please contact our present organist (since 1998), Jeff Reusing at the church at 613 345 5715. Concerts are presented at various times of the year.
The Sacred Labyrinth Walk, Illuminating the Inner Path, is the ancient practice of “Circling to the Center” by walking the labyrinth. The rediscovery of this self alignment tool to put our lives in perspective is one of the most important spiritual movements of our day. Labyrinths have been in use for over 4000 years. Their basic design is fundamental to nature and many cultures and religious traditions. Whatever one’s religion…walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight. It calms people in the throes of life’s transitions.
People, formal cultures, and traditions have used the spiral and labyrinth designs as a symbol of their search for meaning and guidance. The labyrinth is a “unicursal” or one path design – there are no tricks or decisions to be made – much as the surrender to walking a sacred spiritual path in life – our only decision is to choose spirit/God and surrender to divine guidance. The labyrinth is non -denominational . People ll faiths and people longing to re-connect to faith come to walk labyrinths. “I found peace and a sense of God’s presence that I had not experienced since childhood,” responds a labyrinth walker.
Some of the earliest forms of labyrinths are found in Greece, dating back to 2500-2000 B.C.E. This labyrinth is called the Cretan labyrinth or classical seven-circuit labyrinth. So much a part of the fabric of this early society was the labyrinth, that it was embossed on coins and pottery. Early Christian labyrinths date back to 4th century, a basilica in Algeria. The Chartres design labyrinth is a replica of the labyrinth laid into the cathedral floor at Chartres, France in the thirteenth century. The Chartres design is a classical eleven-circuit labyrinth (eleven concentric circles) with the twelfth being in the center of the labyrinth.
In many ways, we see the labyrinth as a call to action, a transformation spiritual tool for people. It can aid healing, help in releasing grief, (people often shed tears during the “letting go”), help guide through troubled times, aid in decision making, illuminate our purpose in life, and act as a tool of celebration and thanks. I have seen it be many things for many people. It is important to recognize it as a spiritual practice, not a magical tool. Its work is our commitment to enter into the sacred spiritual walk, not merely once, but to use it as part of an ongoing spiritual practice.
The material used here is taken from the website Sacredwalk (sacredwalkllc.com). We encourage you to visit their site for more information on Labyrinths.
