Bishop & Pat Goodman
by Pat Goodman
When my husband, Morse, was Bishop of (1969-1983), I often travelled with him to confirmations or other celebrations in the Diocese. It was lovely to visit all the different churches and meet the people. I always looked forward to the Cochrane visits.
There was something very special about that little church; you could sense it as you entered and sat down. Immediately, your eyes focused on the beautiful painting of the Last Supper over the altar. Then, to the left, the highly polished coal oil lamps (rarely used, of course). On the right side of the wall was the painting of the first move of All Saints church from Mitford to Cochrane. The church was pulled over rolling logs by a team of horses.
Just before the service began, one of the wardens would pull down the heavy cord and ring the bell. All in all, one couldn't help but feel the atmosphere of years and years of families worshipping together.
It was also special to us that our son, Peter, and his dear wife, Christine, were part of the congregation.
When my husband retired, we moved to Blind Bay, B.C. (near Salmon Arm) to the very first home of our own! You can imagine our excitement. We indulged in lots of gardening, and Morse played golf. Our families visited us, and we them. When we were in Cochrane, we always attended All Saints Church with Peter and Christine, and enjoyed coffee and a visit in the church hall afterwards.
I still have, and use frequently, a cookbook that the women of the church put together for their 90th anniversary. Bishop Ford presented it to me on behalf of the congregation. Both the Bishop and Mrs. Ford have been our dear friends for many years.
My husband developed cancer during the early years of our retirement. After nine years in Blind Bay, it became necessary to sell our home, and move to Salmon Arm to be closer to the hospital. We bought a dear little home in a complex called Heronview on Shuswap Lake. We celebrated our 50th anniversary there.
Unfortunately, my husband only had six months in Salmon Arm. The Rev. Canon Bray took his funeral service in Salmon Arm, and there was also a memorial service in the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer in Calgary.
As my 80th birthday was looming on the horizon, in August 2002, I decided I should move back to Calgary to be closer to my family.
When it was decided that if we wanted our church to grow, we would have to have a bigger church, we were very worried as to what would happen to our dear All Saints Church.
The move was both sad and exciting. We watched in trepidation as the church was lifted up on the huge truck, and were amazed to see that for all those years the church had just been sitting on various large rocks!
We are all so happy that our dear little church is now solidly on a foundation, incorporated into Bethany Care Centre, once more being loved by those who attend. My cousin from Toronto sent me a clipping regarding the move of our church from the Globe and Mail newspaper!
I really admire and love the members of this church. They "soldier on," as the saying goes, without complaining. We realize and feed sad for our Roman Catholic friends who have been having a very difficult time.
It has also been a lot of work for some members of our church, setting up for the service and putting everything away before they go home. Poor Greg never remembers where his robes are!
We are very excited and thrilled that we may be able to celebrate our Thanksgiving service in the "new" All Saints Church in October.
I must add that I'm very happy that my eldest son, David, and his dear wife, Arlyne, are now attending our church.
We give great thanks for our priest, Greg, and for the members of his staff, Elizabeth and Tina.
As Tiny Tim said in the well-loved A Christams Carol, "God bless us, every one."