Church of the Good Shepherd

The Church of the Good Shepherd is a simple, wood-frame building nestled in a grove of mature trees near Bedwell Harbour on South Pender Island, B.C. The historic place includes the church building with its window depicting a shepherd holding a lamb, the small cabin, the memorial garden, the service schedule sign and an oak tree planted at the time of the church's construction.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is of historic, aesthetic, spiritual, social, and cultural value to the community of South Pender Island for the role it played as a local Anglican Church for over 80 years and today as a community gathering place.

The church has historic and social value as a symbol of the community spirit of early residents on South Pender Island who donated time and resources to its development and their descendants and new arrivals to the island who ensured the continued existence of the church as a community space.

After three decades of Anglican services on South Pender Island being hosted in family homes, the church was designed and built in 1937-38, largely by volunteer labour led by Gerry Parkyn on land donated by the Richardson family. Many other prominent Pender Islands families were also involved in the fund raising, design and construction of the building. The original altar, chancel furniture and other furnishings came from the Saturna Island chapel at the time of its closing, demonstrating the close connection among settlers of the Islands at the time. In the 1940s, the cabin, "the Prophet's Chamber," was constructed behind the church for the minister's use for overnight accommodation on service days.

The church has further historic and social value for its association with residents who died in WWI and WWII as well as other early settlers. A Roll of Honour hangs in the church to remember those South Pender men who gave their lives in WWI and WWII. In addition, there is a plaque in memory of the three men who died in WWII. The memorial garden on the church property, consecrated in 1983, honours a number of the early settlers who came to the Island and their descendants.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is of aesthetic and historic value for its rustic style, including its cedar shingle siding, representative of its locally sourced materials available to the South Pender population in the 1930s. The mature trees surrounding the church, including an oak tree planted in 1937 from an acorn from England's Windsor Great Park, contribute to the serene and contemplative ambiance. The lychgate at the front of the property conveys the sense of entering a special place, while the window above the church altar, depicting a shepherd and lamb, provides a strong focal point within the church.

The church has spiritual and social value for serving as an Anglican Church from 1938-2009, but also as a community gathering place for South Pender residents of many denominations. Since 2012, the South Pender Historical Society has worked with the Parish of St. Peter's to continue the use of the Church of the Good Shepherd and the church grounds as a gathering place for the community of South Pender.

The historic site also has cultural value as a location for relationship building between the Tsawout First Nation and the island's non-indigenous population. The Historical Society worked together with the Tsawout Nation to design and install a Thirteen Moon Calendar to recognize and honour the long history of the Tsawout people on South Pender Island.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is of historic, aesthetic, spiritual, social and cultural value to the community members of South Pender as a physical reminder of our past and as a commitment to future community connection.

SOURCE: Islands Trust, Victoria Office, 200 1627 Fort Street

The character-defining elements of the Church of the Good Shepherd include its:

- rustic style of the church , including its small scale, cedar shingle siding and wooden pews and altar

- steeply pitched gable roof and modest steeple

- prominent, gable roof entryway

- window with the image of the shepherd and lamb

- memorial garden

- mature trees on the property, including the oak planted in 1937 from an acorn from Windsor Great Park.

- lychgate

- service schedule sign

- simple wood cabin

- Tsawout Thirteen Moon calendar installation