As we begin our latest photography project documenting all the Anglican churches here on Vancouver Island, we find ourselves introspectively looking at what makes churches so special. Indeed, they are places of peace and spirituality, a gathering place where people can come together and celebrate each other, and in some cases help each other out. On Vancouver Island the churches were also a big part of the colonization of the island, serving not just as a house of worship but also as central points in the community as a whole.
St. Andrews Anglican Church – Cowichan Station, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
So many people have visited these places over the years, each forming a personal connection with the church and leaving an indelible mark behind. Memorials are celebrated, baptisms have taken place, weddings and funerals… basically all aspects of our life cycle. We are now having opportunities to visit these special places in private, and this is revealing new vignettes that weren’t evident before. At times, the silence is deafening as you take in your surroundings, yet all our senses are heightened as we strive to connect with the past. It is almost as if we’re trying to reach through time to connect with someone or something from the past to learn about our future.
St. Andrews Anglican Church – Cowichan Station, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
How many have come looking for solace or a moment’s peace? How many have come looking for a safe place in an unsafe world? No matter what the answers to these questions may be, I find myself most as peace with the world I live in when I am with my wife alone in these places, left with our questions and our minds to sort out the relevance. As we work through the process of questioning and probing, a sense of haven from a modern world and all it’s inherent trappings begins to take root, like a day at the spa. And through this sense of refuge, we find some answers to lingering questions, causing other questions to come to mind. A deeper and constant need to understand is never fully satiated, but even with this, we always leave with a better understanding of who we are and how we fit into the universe that we all call home.
Read more about St. Andrews Anglican Church
Photo Credits
All photos are © Scott Johnson – All Rights Reserved
Recent Scott Johnson Articles:
- A Settler’s Story
- Sweet Desolation
- The Second Life Of A Rusty Tugboat
- Reaching For The Heavens
- Greet The Morning
Thank you for these beautiful images, Scott. Even if one is not religious, one can easily be transported by the beauty and serenity of a historic church (well, even of some modern ones, I suppose). I eagerly look forward to additional images as you post them here.
Thank you so much for your visit and wonderful comments here, Ross, we really appreciate it! We’re super excited about this project, some of the churches here on the west coast are so beautifully designed and crafted, they make for perfect photography subjects.
I am looking forward to your future posts – what a great idea for a photo project!
Thank you so very much Heather, that really means a lot to us! We’re super excited to get to work on this, and to share the pictures we’ll be capturing. I have visited a few sites in preparation for logistics and planning and I can honestly say some of the subjects we will be focusing on here will be absolutely wonderful! Thanks ever so kindly for your support!