To learn more of our history,
There are many items in our sanctuary that are very special to us. Two of these items are detailed below.
Gibsons United Church
......where everyone is welcome......
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We welcome all newcomers with open arms to worship and find a
new home with us. We are also grateful for those who have been a part of
our family for many years. Without them, there would be no Gibsons United
today. Our congregation traces its roots back to the early 1900's.
To learn more of our history,
There are many items in our sanctuary that are very special to us. Two of these items are detailed below. |
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Rupert Bainbridge Memorial Window
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This window was designed by Vivian Chamberlin, Mary
Burgess and Maynard Halsey, and crafted by Susan Furze. It has
many symbols, the doves, sheep, tree of knowledge of good and evil,
water, flowers and fields. Colours and their Meaning |
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| Blue Brown Green Orange Purple Red Violet White Yellow |
sky, love, peace,
harmony in the heavenly body, infinity abode of man, earthly peace, spring over winter, life over death, birth, new beginning, completeness, hope emotions, feelings, happiness, joy and energy God, the sovereign, royalty, mastery, greatness, strength and triumph love, fire and zeal, blood of martyrs, faithful, sacrificing, physical and being centered love, truth, kindness, spiritual and saints innocence of the soul, purity, holiness of life, high plateaus, patience rejoicing, hope, emblem of the sun and divinity, mental supremacy of reason over passion |
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| Reference Verses from Genesis | ||
| Ch 1:12 | The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. (Symbolized by the lower third of the window). | |
| Ch 1:20 | And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” (Symbolized by the water in the middle of the window, the sheep under the tree and the dove in the corners). | |
| Ch 1:24 | And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. (Symbolized by the sheep and dove). | |
| Ch 2:10 | A river flows of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. | |
| Ch 3:22 | Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”. (Symbolized by the apple tree). | |
Sanctuary Cloth
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The purple cloth on the Communion Table celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary,
June 7th, 1987, of this sanctuary as the home of the Gibsons
congregation of the United Church of Canada. In the centre of the arrangement is the Passion Flower (Passiflora Caerulea). The ten petals represent the ten faithful apostles, Judas and Thomas being omitted, (some say Peter). The outer corona symbolizes the crown of thorns. Within the centre, the five stamen represent Christ’s wounds and the three-part stigma, the nails. The Rose (Rosa Acicularis), symbol of love and hope, is often used in relief on pew ends, in carved mouldings and in stained glass windows. The White Daisy (chrysanthemum Leucanthemum) signifies the young Christ’s purity and innocence. |
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The Lily
(Lillium Longiforum) is a symbol of Easter with its immaculate white
flowers. It was cultivated centuries before Christ by the Cretans and
Egyptians; was cherished by the monks of the Middle Ages and is found in
many Renaissance paintings. The Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger) which grew abundantly in the first century, symbolizes the Nativity of Our Lord. It blooms at Christmas time, is hardy through the snow and storms and it is said that “Despite wars, which shake the whole earth, there still exists a mighty power, which can shape a rose or lead shepherds to a King”. |
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| The Fleur-de-lis (Iris Pseudacorus) forms a golden link around these flowers. The iris is indigenous to Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and North America. In Canada, these grow wild and are know as yellow flags. Louis VII of France chose the iris, growing on the banks of the River Lys, as the emblem for his Crusaders. The Fleur-de-lis epitomises the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. | |
| Molly Whitelaw Reid designed the cloth incorporating flowers symbolic in the Christian religion. We gratefully acknowledge the help of Pauline Webber who hemmed the cloth; Lillian Loewen of Sechelt who so skillfully appliqued and embroidered it and Dr. Bill Cormack, botanist and friend for his botanical advice. | |
Prepared by Margaret and Ed Edgar |
