St. Matthew's: The Windows

St. Matthew's is one of the loveliest churches in western Canada. It has the quiet dignity of the Anglo Roman, which stems from the Romanesque, and the added grace of Gothic windows.

The architect was Frank Portnall, who came to Regina in the first decade after it became a city. He was a very serious artist who did not believe in designing a building for utility alone. It is the windows that give shape, pattern and colour, with the play of light on the walls and decorative elements that give the impression of spiritual life in the church.

The Rose Window, a circular form of violet, rose and blues, surrounding two mystic figures is a focus for the eyes to come to the sanctuary. It was given by the family and George Broder, who gave a part of his farm land for the church.

The two small windows that flank the Rose Window in the sanctuary are of St. George on the north wall and Saint Michael on the South. These were given by Mrs. Coward-Robinson in memory of Arnold Coward and Helen Coward-Robinson.

The clerestory is the high part of the wall. There are no windows on the north wall because of the organ pipes. All of the windows in the clerestory are factory made but they're well chosen and unobtrusive in soft blues. There are two windows in the chancel.

"Suffer little children to come unto me."
A memorial to George Plant, Sunday School superintendent and choir master. Given in his memory by his wife, and daughter that he'd Bell.

Harp of David window
A memorial to William A. Adcock, Rector 1918 - 1936, in his memory by friends, parishioners and music lovers, in the presence of his son. During the incumbency of the Reverend Adcock, the St. Matthew's choir enjoyed a particular prominence, with usually 50 or more choir members.

Continuing along the clerestory from east to west on the south wall and then across to the north wall, the windows are as follows:

Faith works by love: in memory of Alice Chambers, beloved long time Sunday School Teacher.

"He is risen": in that memory of William Albert and Harriet Dougherty and daughter Lalia Charlotte.

The Dorcas Window: Women Auxiliary Jubilee thanksgiving memorial window - 1961.

"My soul doth magnify the Lord": in memory of Helen Broder, widow of George Broder, 1861-1944.

The West Window: of three Gothic panels with glass inserts was given by Miss Elsie Parkinson in celebration of fifty years membership in St. Matthew's and in memory of loved ones.

The chapel was furnished by the Broder sisters in memory of their sister Grace. It was Grace Broder who started the Sunday School that grew into a church. The church was later replaced by St. Matthew's. There are three small windows in the chapel: Saint James, Saint Peter and Saint John.

The north and south aisles under the clerestory. These small windows, arranged in pairs were not standard size or design. What to do with them was the question. In the Reverend Pilling's ministry a committee decided to honor outstanding events in the province of Rupert's Land. A series was planned and it was eventually completed after a considerable amount of research. Several of these windows were designed by Margaret Messer, a retired Art Teacher and member of St. Matthew's.

The series of windows span the four hundred year history of the Anglican Church in the Province of Rupert's Land, and of the events which marked the establishment of Grace Church and St. Matthew's Church.

The great English Admiral and friend of Drake, Sir Martin Frobisher was keeping out of sight while Philip the second of Spain was the setting what to do about Elizabeth I, so he took a run at the North West Passage. He happened to skirt that huge lonely land of Baffin. He entered one of the fiords and after he had sailed a long way he was sure he had found the passage. He was not equipped for long voyage, so he ordered his Chaplin, Robert Wolfall, to prepare a Thanksgiving service and turned for home. He never knew he had not found the North West Passage, but he gave Canada the first Thanksgiving north of the Rio Grande.

The windows given by Les and Joan Bence in memory of their parents, Frank and Ivy Bence and Clem and Maude Reid.

The First Anglican Priest
The Red River, October 14,1820

The Hudson's Bay Company had not been too concerned with the care of the souls of their servants until it united with the Nor' West Company on the Red River. There would be unemployment and desertion of the Canadian families and no social welfare or church. The governor in London made an appeal to the Church Missionary Society for Schools and he engaged an Anglican priest by the name of John West.

The missionary priest came over to the Bay via Norway House. After four months he had reached the Red River were the Scots gave him a less than a rousing welcome. However he built Saint Andrew's Church and his tact won them over.

The First Anglican Priest window is given in memory of Alex and Daniel Kaziel by the Joe Kaziel family.

Henry Budd,Ordained priest at The Pas
June 10, 1855

The reverend John West brought two of the first young natives that he baptized at Norway House to the Red River. Henry Budd, was an eager scholar and soon he was teaching in the service of the Company. He was sent to Cumberland House but later moved to The Pas. The Missionary Society brought him back to the Red River to study for the ministry and he was ordained Deacon by Bishop David Anderson at Saint Andrew's Church on December 22, 1850. When Bishop Anderson took his northern trip in 1855 he ordained Henry Budd priest at Christ Church, The Pas.

The honorable and Right Reverend A.J.R. Anson, the first bishop of the Diocese, arrives at the new Canadian Pacific Railway station. He was met by the future Dean of the Pro-Cathedral, Qu'Appelle, Dean Sargent and many people of the Diocese.

This pair of windows are given by Bernice Ambrosi in memory of her mother Dorothy Cherpeta-Bowman and by Freda Laight and Rita Hosie in memory of the Laight family.

Grace Church, Regina
December 25,1910

The dedication of the first Church in the parish, Grace Church, to the glory of God.

St. Matthew's is concentrated by Bishop Harding as church and community grow together.

Pioneer Women of the Diocese
College Avenue, Regina 1935

Memorial to the Sisters at St. John the Divine who maintained the Qu'Appelle Diocesan school and to Miss Hazel and the ladies of the Sunday School by Post Mission, who brought the word to isolated homes.

The Children Honour the Centennial
of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle
June 24,1984

The children, assisted by a senior chorister, plant a tree in honor of the Diocesan Celebration of one hundred years. A testimony to a life of service of George Dawson.

Given to the Glory of God in the memory of Ann Zaremba by her loving husband John.

This window dedicated in 2000 upon the completion of the addition to the north side of the church.

Sometime in the early nineteen hundreds Grace Broder began holding Sunday School classes in her father's farm house. George Broder donated land and the first wooden church was built on a sight which was located in front of the present rectory. This was named "Grace Church" in memory of Grace Broder. About 1915 a basement church began to be built on the corner Winnipeg Street and 14th Avenue and was to be named St. Matthew's. It was not until 1926, after a generous donation by an anonymous English donor as a memorial to her only son killed in the war, that the present building was completed.