The large Advent wreath that sits at the front of the church, during the season, is now more than 40 years old! How did this particular wreath come to be?
The minister at the time, the Reverend Dr. Gordon How, expressed a desire for a large Advent wreath to be placed at the front of the sanctuary, with four candles to represent Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, and a centre Christ candle. Bob Coulter, a congregation and choir member, volunteered to construct the wreath. He designed it and carefully worked on it in his workshop in the basement of his home. It was a creative endeavour. When it was first used it was actually suspended on lines from the ceiling – a “floating” wreath. It was then reworked, using, as a base, the bottom of an unused chair from the T. Eaton Co., his workplace. It was made to be separated into two pieces for easy storage. He would probably be a bit surprised, but very pleased, to know that the wreath is still used every year.
The wreath has been in place every year since then. When the hymn book Voices United came into use there was a perfect song available to use annually in our candle lighting tradition. We now sing VU #7, ‘Hope is a Star’, every year, as the candles are lit each week of Advent. Each of the four weeks is represented by a verse.
We also have beautiful hangings that were created for Knox, by a congregation member, to match the four verses of the song – but that will be – another story.