Take a fascinating pictorial tour of Old Heritage Churches

Have you ever wondered about a church you drive by? Or wanted to learn more about some of our local churches without having to drive by?

Well, even if you haven’t, I’m sure many would enjoy the site I’ve just come across lately (not sure how I’ve missed it thus far). Dave Stewart-Candy has very much taken an interest in church buildings and their history, both locally and beyond.

And the results of that interest can be found on his Old Heritage Churches site, of which he says:

Old pioneer and heritage churches are a favourite photography subject of mine. This website documents the various churches and religious sites that I have visited during my travels in British Columbia, Alberta, Washington and Idaho between 2010 and 2025.

Seeking out and photographing these old churches has become a journey for my soul. I hope you enjoy visiting these places here, as much as I did in person.

Stewart-Candy’s most recent posts are of churches in Idaho, but if you want to focus on local churches you can click on ‘British Columbia’ or the names of specific cities, at the bottom of the main page, or on the various denominations.

He notes that while some church buildings have been occupied by the same denominations since they were built, quite a number have new owners. He has “opted to use the name best-known or most historically-relevant in reflecting their heritage and story.”

Here are snippets from some of the write-ups; the photos are his:

• 24th Avenue Gospel Hall (Vancouver)

Tucked away along a narrow residential side-street off Main Street, this church building was constructed in 1941 by a congregation of Plymouth Brethren who called it the 24th Avenue Gospel Hall. .

The Plymouth Brethren originated in Ireland as a non-conformist, low church movement from Anglicanism and they view themselves simply as group of free churches and not specifically as a denomination.

This particular congregation worshiped at this location until 1982. Vancouver Fountain Alliance Church is the current occupant of the church. . . .

• Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (Vancouver)

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Greek Orthodox parish was established in Vancouver on May 9, 1937. The first Holy Liturgy was held on July 18, 1937 at the Ukrainian National Home.

The parish acquired the site and building previously occupied by the Beulah Mission of the Free Methodist Church, which had opened here on December 7, 1913. It later became the Beulah Rescue Mission and then relocated downtown to Water Street in April 1930. . . .

The new church was based on a design by Ukrainian architect Serhiy Tymoshenko (1881 – 1950), who designed four churches in Canada. The cross for the main cupola was blessed by The Reverend Stephen Symchych on September 11, 1949. . . .

(See image at top of article.)

• St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church (Vancouver)

St. John’s Shaughnessy has witnessed firsthand many social shifts which have occurred within Canadian Anglicanism in the latter half of the 20th century . . .

Originally a high church congregation steeped in Anglo-Catholicism, to counter declining membership and declining finances, around 1978 the congregation made a shift toward low church evangelism to grow its numbers.

By the early 1990s, St. John’s Shaughnessy had grown into the largest Anglican congregation in Canada with an average of 800 attending weekly services.

In 1990 the church underwent $1,500,000 in renovations. The site had also evolved into the Diocesan headquarters which were located in the adjacent annex to the church building.

However, in 2002, conflict arose when St. John’s Shaughnessy and six other Anglican parishes opposed the Diocese of New Westminster approving same-sex unions. . . .

(From the church site: St. John’s Shaughnessy will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this Sunday, October 19: “Come join us for a special event at St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church as we celebrate the dedication of two beautiful windows. The Most Reverend John Stephens, Archbishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon, and The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, will be celebrating.”)

• St. Nicholas Anglican Church (Burnaby)

The parish was founded on Tuesday, November 21, 1911, originally as a mission church of All Saints Anglican Church.

Located in the Vancouver Heights neighbourhood in the northwest corner of Burnaby, the congregation initially met in a store which had been shared with local Presbyterians. . . .

St. Nicholas Anglican Church closed in 2003 and the building was sold. . . . The church building is currently the home of Burnaby Pacific Grace Church, a Chinese Mennonite Brethren Church.

• Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church (Crescent Beach, Surrey)

Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church was built in 1946 . . . From around 2013 until March 2020, when the last Roman Catholic services were held in the church, its parishioners had been involved in a bitter fight with the archdiocese, with an appeal made all the way to the Vatican, against parish amalgamation, closure and possible sale.

The parishioners ultimately lost the battle and the building was sold off by the Roman Catholic Church in April 2021 – although it has remained a house of worship.

The heritage building received clearance from the Vatican approving the sale of the building to the All Saints Community Church of White Rock. All Saints are part of the traditionalist Anglican Mission in Canada.

(I wrote about All Saints here.)

Deepened spirituality

Dave Stewart-Candy describes how he developed his interest in old church buildings:

I am a resident of Surrey, British Columbia. As an amateur photographer, I began photographing old pioneer and heritage churches that I came across during my frequent travels in the Southern Cariboo region of British Columbia.

These old church buildings soon became a favourite subject for me. (disclaimer: railroading and locomotives are my first loves in photography). . . .

Visiting these sites over the years has helped further connect and deepen my own personal spirituality – which, officially on paper, is Church of England / Anglican Church of Canada.

This is however fortified with a side helping of Catholic and Orthodox devotions, welcomed in part due to the high church upbringing of my parents and our family.

He and his wife are connected to St. Helen’s Anglican Church in Surrey.

Go here for his full bio.

Old Heritage Churches features many local churches and many more throughout BC and beyond.

Here are a couple of related stories on Church for Vancouver:

• Heritage Vancouver wants to save historic church buildings
• Will Wilding ‘changed the face of what churches looked like’ in Metro Vancouver
• High profile building projects dot the city landscape