Reflection on the Chapel Building

Posted 1/18/2019

I thought that this morning that I would reflect on Chapel itself, and how we can treasure it.

I have been very fortunate in my life to have lived or studied next to beautiful churches – from my family home in a small village in southern England which is next to a Saxon church built in 1050 to school and university chapels, from cathedrals to the wooden stave churches of Norway with their striking dragon sculptures.

I have also been very fortunate to visit some wonderful churches in my travels – from the sunken, rock-cut churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia to a cricketing friend’s wedding in a Russian Orthodox church in St Petersburg, Russia.

You too will find yourselves drawn to such places.

As an English teacher, I used to love to use the chapel – the same one in which I set fire to my academic gown – with my classes: for discussing iconography and symbolism of stained glass windows and paintings; for exploring and researching the immortality boards with names of notable alumni; for creative writing and reading; and sometimes for simply lying on our backs on the pews and marvelling at the wonders of the ceiling.

I wonder how often you have taken a moment to look up at the ceiling of Chapel – or Marion Hall or Mitchell Hall – and marvelled at these structural wonders.

Sometimes, we focus too hard on the six inches in front of our noses and forget to stop, look up and gaze at beauty – both of the nature that surrounds us and the architectural wonders of the school.

The Rev and I thought you might like to learn a little bit about our Chapel this morning – a return to our past.

Chapel services began in the 1920s at Shawnigan – and were held, not in a Chapel, but in what was then known as ‘Big School’ – a room with colonial hunting trophies hanging on the walls.

The foundations to this Chapel were laid just less than 100 years ago. The walls of the foundations disastrously were blown over by a storm during construction.

A stained glass window (made by an art teacher) was originally installed in the south wall of the Chapel and has since been relocated to the entrance to the Hobbies Building. Next time you are passing, look up at its distinctive design.

The Chapel was originally designed to seat 200 and, in those days, there was always a Chapel Choir with the choristers in the traditional robes and ruffs – positioned in choir stalls.

The chapel has been expanded on a number of occasions in order to support the increase in numbers of students and to incorporate a bell tower and a new organ with the altar changing ends at one point.

It has held memorial services – in 1952 for CW Lonsdale, the founder of our school, alongside funerals and memorial services for other former Headmasters, Governors, chaplains, staff and alumni – as well as many christenings and weddings. I believe that some staff present here this morning were married here, and some students were christened here.

We also have a plaque honouring alumni who gave their lives during World War II – you will remember that our Grade 10 students read out their names as part of our Remembrance Day Service last November. The plaque, a gift from a former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, was unveiled in 1948.

Since the plaque was cast, we have learnt of at least a couple more men of Shawnigan whose names were omitted. We recognise their sacrifice in the School’s Museum and at our annual Remembrance Service. One day, I hope that we recognize their contribution by adding their names onto the wall in Chapel to which they belong.

The Rev gives a magical mystery tour if you or your teacher asks him which includes exploring behind the organ, ringing the chapel bell and some tall stories of the Shawnigan ghost. The Prep students are still talking about their adventure.

I invite you to come and explore on your own – discover the female staff members from the early days recognized for their contributions with plaques, discover why ‘Fearless unto Death’ is written in Chinese characters on a plaque from 1936, and what connects Mr. Monro to the area behind the altar?

One of my favourite stories, passed on by our wonderful archivist and museum curator, is of the time in the late 1980s when some mischievous students set up a contraption mounted in the rafters above the Headmaster’s seat in Chapel. A wind-up alarm clock, set to ring during the chapel service, ingeniously triggered a mechanism to tip a bucket of water onto the Headmaster’s head. To his great credit, Doug Campbell (the Headmaster), is reputed to have stood up, pointed his finger accusingly at the student congregation, and – matching the spirit of the occasion – shouted ‘That was a really good prank!’

It’s another good reason for headmasters especially to cast their eyes heavenwards in order to detect mischief from above.

So as you walk step-by-step towards Chapel (albeit sometimes reluctantly), know that you are following generations of students who have made the same journey – first along a sloped gravel path and, more recently, up the 37 chapel steps.

Look at Stanty’s Garden below the chapel and facing the Quad with its memorial plaques, remember to spot the bell from HMS Broadwater that stands sentinel at the entrance, cast a glance at the Founder’s Prayer on entry as you head for your pew, take a moment to glance at the architecture around you, look over at the reproductions by the Italian artist Raphael, enjoy the beauty of the organ music, and steal a glance at the ceiling.

Through all the changes that have taken place on campus, the Chapel has always maintained a prominent and vital role as the physical and spiritual centre of the school. It is a place of worship, of reflection, of celebration and of remembrance. It’s a place of community building.

It’s a place where we all come together to reflect and to sing. There are not many schools across the world which deliver such wholehearted and passionate delivery of hymns in English, Latin, and Welsh.

Above all, the Chapel connects you to all those who have come before you and who will come after you.

Its only expectation of you is that you respect the place and the people who gather here as one community.

The Rev taught me early on that students and staff make contributions to our gatherings through readings, presentations, prayers in different languages, musical pieces – not as performances but as gifts to the community. I am proud of the supportive recognition that we give to these courageous contributions.

Our chapel welcomes all faiths and, beyond our services, remains open for those students and staff wanting to visit, to explore, to play the piano, to pray, to reflect, or simply to lie on a pew and stare at the ceiling.

And don’t be put off by the Chapel ghost!

In the years to come, you will remember this place – we hope – as the centre of our community.

As the Grade 12s cherish every last chapel service of this academic year and the Grade 8s consider five long years of chapel engagement, know that we all will return as alumni and former staff to campus and will feel that magnetic and familiar draw back to Chapel – the soul of Shawnigan – and will step inside, senses alert, to remember the people and the place that made our hearts sing.

Richard D A Lamont

Headmaster

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