The Chomedey News - Laval News

DEMETRA LAMBROPOULOS
ple, Incumbent Reverend John Morrell enjoys
working with the people and serving his community.
Historical background
In the early 1960s, when Montrealers were
looking to move away from the urban centre,
a lot of them settled in Laval, better known
then as Isle Jesus. As a result of the influx of
residents, The Diocese of Montreal decided
that a church was needed to accommodate
Anglican worshipers in Laval. Therefore,
with the assistance of Reverend A. M. Ried
and Archdeacon J. F. Morris, the Anglican
Congregation of St. Martin began holding services
in February 1961 at Martinvale School.
Soon thereafter, Reverend R.S. Newman was
appointed as incumbent.
In 1962, Archbishop John Dixon gave the
parish the patronal name of St. Simon and the
congregation then entered the planning phase
to build a church of their own. With the help
of the diocese and their parish, land was purchased
along du Souvenir. To the delight of
dedicated worshipers, St. Simon’s church was
completed in January 1964.
With the influx of churches being built around
suburbia, sister church, St. Bartholomew’s in
New Bordeaux began to experience a decline
in their numbers, which in turn made it impossible
for them to uphold the cost of maintaining
their church. In 1998, it was St. Simon’s
in Laval that welcomed the disbanded congregation.
In honour of the church, St. Simon’s
adopted the name of the former St.
Bartholomew, so that the church now became
the St. Simon’s and St. Bartholomew’s church.
Les Abris
12 • THE CHOMEDEY NEWS • September 6, 2003 • www.chomedeynews.ca
Where Laval’s Anglican Church stands
today
In addition to serving the parish at St. Simon’s
and St. Bartholomew’s, Incumbent Reverend
Morrell also oversees services at The Church
of the Good Shepherd in Cartierville. With a
decline in both worshipers and financial
means, when Good Shepherd Minister
Kenneth Lee retired in 1997, Father Morrell
was asked to become the Incumbent Reverend
at both The Good Shepherd and St. Simon’s
and St. Bartholomew’s. All three parishes
have now been combined into one, the parish
of Chomedey-Cartierville-Bordeaux.
Splitting his time between both churches,
Reverend Morrell admits that “overseeing two
Churches takes a lot of time.” According to the
Reverend, back in the 60s there may have
been a growth in the Chomedey area; however,
“The challenge today is what to do in the
Western part of Laval, where people are moving
to Ste. Dorothée and are need of a place of
worship…It is especially a problem since we
are in a mode of decline where churches are
closing.”
Looking to the future, Reverend Morrell told
TCN that the Parish is looking to work within
their deanery, which covers the North Shore as
well, in order to add diversity and perhaps
even take care of the void of churches in the
Western part of Laval.
The Father speaks proudly of the all the
SNOGONE
parishes that make up the large deanery. “We
are part of a greater congregation. Lake of
Two Mountains has a youth ministry with an
active community youth pastor. Rosemere
also has informal spiritual training for adults;
we have the largest Sunday school program
with about 25 students.” According to Morrell,
even with limited economic means, plans at
St. Simon’s and St. Bartholomew’s are positive.
The church often take part in such fund
raising campaigns as the cross Canada ride-athon
to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis,
they also participate in various events at
AGAPE, such as their walk-a-thon at the end
of the month. In addition, this year alone the
parish raised $1300 for the Settlement Fund
for Aboriginal Victims of Residential Schools.
Reverend Santram served the community
for 14 years
Originally hailing from India, Reverend Philip
Santram has served St. Simon’s and St.
Bartholomew’s the longest - a total of 14
years. Santram has been a minister in many
different regions such as Ethiopia and
England. Back in 1978, he decided to relocate
to Canada, “It was time for a change. I decided
to leave and never looked back with
regret.”
Santram decided to retire from St. Simon’s
and St. Bartholomew’s back in 1997 because
he felt that at the time, he had done whatever
SNOGONE Inc.
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Pictured above is the dedication of
St. Simon’s which took place in
January 1964. Bishop Kenneth
McGuire presided over the service.
a minister could possibly do for his community.
He added how he was blessed for having
been welcome to worship at the church even
after he retired. He feels that his greatest contribution
to the community was helping to
make people more “open” to different ethnicities.
Recognizing St. Simon’s and St.
Bartholomew’s for their kindness and open
hearts, Santram also thanked his wife Jamila
for her support. “It is a blessing that she let
me do my work and I’ve always appreciated
her input.”
The current Reverend Incumbent, John
Morrell
When Reverend Santram retired, numerous
priests submitted their names in the hopes of
getting the new opening at St. Simon’s and St.
Bartholomew’s. Having served in Stanstead
and Vermont as a part-time minister, Morrell
was invited to partake in a few services at the
church, so that a selection committee from St.
Bartholomew’s and the Good Shepherd could
get a sense of his style. After having been
interviewed by Archbishop A. S. Hutchison,
Morrell was invited to become permanent
incumbent.
As the new priest, Reverend Morrell enjoyed
making his way to Laval, performing liturgies
and serving various duties for worshipers. He
says that what attracted him to this city was
“not so much the location but a very good
friend and mentor, Father Lee at the Good
Shepard.” The Reverend specified how his
mentor had spoken highly of the congregation
and their dedication to helping the community.
“What also appealed to me about at this
church was the active Sunday school program
and the number of families and fathers that
attend church,” said an enthused Father
Morrell.
According to the Reverend, “The biggest challenge
I’ve faced so far is finding ways for the
two churches and the deanery to work together.
Each church member needs me to look
after their needs.” Morrell manages to take
care of everyone and still finds the time to participate
in local philanthropic community
groups such as AGAPE and CISEP (Centre
d’intégration Sociale et Professionelle).
A reason to celebrate
The Reverend invites everyone to take part in
the year round celebrations in honour of their
40 th anniversary. He specified that “Anyone
touched by the ministry of former Reverends
are welcome to come back for special services.”
The anniversary services will include
former St. Simon and St. Bartholomew
Reverends. These services will take place on
October 26, where Reverend Peter Asbil will
be present; November 30, which Reverend
Alan Cameron will take part in and February
1, where Reverend Pamela will also help out.
Celebrations will end next spring with a concluding
service and historical display.
Demetra Lambropoulos’ email address is
demetra@chomedeynews.ca