An art glass image of windswept candlelight will wrap Christ Church Cathedral’s new bell spire. The Cathedral Trustees are pleased to announce that glass artist Sarah Hall has been selected to design the glass panels which will clad the upper 60 feet of the proposed 100-foot tall bell spire. Hall conceives of the spire as “literally a lighthouse”, connected to Vancouver as a great port city and highlighting the Cathedral’s role as a guide to the parish and the community. In Hall’s design, entitled Welcoming Light, the spire becomes a meeting place of land, sea, sky, and bells.
Hall, based in Toronto is an internationally recognized glass artist who specializes in large-scale installations for places of worship. She was the unanimous choice from among four pre-qualified finalists by the Cathedral’s Stained Glass Advisory Panel and recommended to the Cathedral’s Trustees who made the final decision.
Darlene Poole, panel member and lead donor to the project, observed, “Sarah Hall has so beautifully linked the contemporary and the traditional within the Cathedral. ‘Welcoming Light,’ as she describes her work, will indeed be a beacon for our city.” Philanthropist and friend of the project Joe Segal added, "We're going to ring the bells to tell the city that God is here.”
The new bell spire will be an outcome of the Cathedral’s Ring the Bells, Raise the Roof, Feed the Hungry! capital campaign. Cathedral Rector and Dean, the Very Rev. Peter Elliott observed, "Welcoming Light by Sarah Hall captured the imagination of the jury and the congregation. It's a beautiful artistic expression of the Cathedral's motto "Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds". It is a gift from this generation to future citizens and visitors to Vancouver. “
Construction on the project is planned to begin immediately after Easter 2015, and to be completed in time for the new bells to ring for Christmas 2015.
To find out more about the Raise the Roof, Ring the Bells, Feed the Hungry! campaign and project, please visit the RAISE THE ROOF website or telephone Emily Pritchard, Director of Stewardship and Capital Development, Christ Church Cathedral (604) 682-3848 ex. 21.
(The full text of the above article containing additional details will be published in the December 2014 issue of Topic the diocesan publication available 10 months of the year as a section of the Anglican Journal)
Images: Top, A rendering of the Sarah Hall art for the spire superimposed on a photo of the north wall AND adjacent buildings. Middle right, three panels of glass design. Homepage and lower left, two panels showing a section in detail
Images Courtesy of Christ Church Cathedral’s Raise the Roof, Ring the Bells, Feed the Hungry! campaign