St. Helen’s Fine Art Fair originated in 2020 as a spring counterpoint to the church’s very successful fall craft sale. The aim was to showcase local artists from the east end of Ottawa to the wider Orleans community. That first year’s effort was, unfortunately, cancelled at the last moment, with 15 guest artists planning to participate, due to the onset of COVID-19. Undeterred, the 2021 fair successfully ran as an online sales event and the following two years continued that success with full in-person sales events. Among the contributing artists, there has always been a contingent of three or four parishioners showcasing their captivating artwork.

Unlike other fundraising activities, St. Helens retains only a 20 percent commission on sales, the rest will go directly to the artists, which, last year resulted them taking home in excess of $3,600. The balance, together with basic entry fees, has typically allowed St. Helen’s ministry to donate about $1,200 to one of our Diocese’s programs. One year the donation was in support of Ukraine refugees, another year in support of Hollyer House, and last year in support of the Diocese’s general homeless ministry. For 2024, St. Helen’s Community Partnership Committee (formerly Outreach) has requested that this year’s donation go to support the flood victims in Pakistan.

Two artists who have been very successful the past few years are venturing into new creative endeavours: Brenda Reid is further exploring her Indigenous roots with some traditional animal sculptures, and Joanne Lacroix is venturing beyond her imaginative pyrography and discovering her talents with fused glass.

Joining us this year is Lynda Dyson who will be enticing us with her abstract figures in mixed media and after two years away, Peter Lackey is returning with his inspired stained-glass art.

Other artists contributing the fair this year are: Jill McKinlay, an RA Camera Club winner with her dazzling flower photography; Caroline Daevy, an award-winning artist, offering her traditional and abstract oils; Carole Renaud with her bold, rich and dramatic paintings; Elisabeth Baechlin whose creations are inspired by nature; Hélène Lepage, an award-winning painter whose focus is on strong colours on a variety of media; Mary Douglas with her exceptionally colourful watercolours; Andrée Marchessaault, presenting her paint studies of some renowned artists; Jane Cass with her very striking landscape photography; Peter Waddell with his innovative wood bowls and trinket boxes; and Clayton Knowlton recognized for his whimsical box sculptures.

You can view the galleries of these artists on our web page (www.sthelensartfair.ca) and follow the progress of the art fair on our Facebook and Instagram pages (www.facebook.com/sthelensartfair and@sthelens.artfair)

If you are an artist looking to exhibit your work for the first time or an experienced gallery artist, the art fair still has room for you. For more information, please contact Brian Glenn, Art Fair Coordinator, at sthelensartfair@gmail.com.

The fair will be held on Saturday, June 1, between 10 am and 3 pm at St. Helen’s Anglican Church, 1234 Prestone Dr., Orleans.

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The church had to close entirely during the pandemic and had to wait longer to reopen because its small size didn’t accommodate social distancing.

When health conditions allowed, St. Mary the Virgin (SMTV) reopened and parishioners came back, but their numbers had dropped, Janet Hope, one of two rector’s wardens, told Crosstalk. They made attempts to attract new people, but the historic building has some limitations that probably didn’t help. It doesn’t have running water or Wi-fi.

 “We all started talking about it and weighed the pros and cons, did a lot of soul searching about it, and just decided we had to do something,” said Hope. “People still needed a [parish] home to go to…. There was good solid 35 still on our parish list, so we looked at our options,” she said, mentioning that they considered going to several churches. “We looked into joining with St. Mary’s [Navan] and Trinity [Bearbrook] and closing up our church.” But she added that they hoped to find a way to keep the building that meant so much to people, some of whom had been going there for 40 years, open.

Fortunately, SMTV was in a good financial situation. “We had a solid budget….We have a rectory that is self-sufficient…It’s rented out and tenant occupied,” said Hope.

They found a warm welcome at St. Helen’s. “We met with [Archdeacon] Rhonda [Waters], and after much deliberation, we thought St. Helen’s might be a fit,” Hope said. “Our council met with their council and reiterated again that …there was no debt coming with us. Even if there was debt, they would have taken us. They were just so happy to have St. Mary’s.”

The votes on both sides were unanimous (minus one person at SMTV). The parish had its final service last fall and then joined St. Helen’s for Advent. 

Amalgamating as one congregation with two properties allowed St. Mary the Virgin to keep its building open and to use it for occasional services throughout the year.

“It was easy for us to say yes because of size and proximity, a shared interest in being very community-facing,” Waters told Crosstalk. “The St. Helen’s Parish Council was very excited and continues to be committed to understanding ourselves as now being a parish that includes Blackburn Hamlet. We’re still figuring out what that means…. I think that makes the St. Mary the Virgin folks feel good because they were really committed to ministry in Blackburn Hamlet. We picked up their outreach and fundraising activities.”

St. Mary the Virgin used to do an annual fundraiser, selling simnel cakes at Easter and donating the proceeds to the Norman Johnson Secondary Alternate Program. “We did the same fundraiser, but instead of selling cakes to a congregation of 20 people, we were selling to a congregation of 120 people,” said Waters, adding that the outreach committee has visited the school and is interested in building on the relationship.

“St. Mary the Virgin had reached a point where they no longer had the numeric capacity to do the work they wanted to do,” Waters said. “And by joining St. Helens, they weren’t going to have to abandon that work, but they were going to have new partners in that work. And I think that we have been able to really live up to that.” 

She added that SMTV parishioners have offered an example “in their capacity to understand that they have a ministry, not a parish, and that they wanted a faithful way to sustain the ministry that God had given them and were aware that sustaining the parish was not allowing them to sustain their ministry anymore.”

Waters said they are still figuring out “how to make good and faithful use of the St. Mary the Virgin church site, other than, of course, the cemetery, which continues to be an important ministry.” 

Hope said that they planned to meet with the council for our area to see how the building might be used to benefit Blackburn Hamlet. “It’s a beautiful building and it has valuable space that might be able to be used for meetings or a food bank location.” 

Waters added that a number people from St. Helen’s “have really fallen in love with the intimacy and the beauty of St. Mary the Virgin Church.”

Lorna Ponting was one of the St. Helen’s parishioners who helped SMTV parishioners settle in. “We certainly welcomed them with open arms because we all understood what a huge decision this was for St. Mary’s,” she said, adding that their “sweet little church” becoming a part of the parish was a bonus. “We had an Epiphany service there in January … and then we all came back to St. Helen’s and had a potluck dinner. It was a perfect way to start the year officially with St. Mary the Virgin joining us….       Then the first service of Holy Week was held at St. Mary the Virgin.”

Ponting added that the SMTV parishioners who have started attending St. Helen’s have been very enthusiastic about getting involved. “They want to be readers, they want to be lay admin people, they want to help making a coffee… they’ve really come in keenly.”

Linda Dacre, who shared Rector’s Warden duties with Janet Hope and was also the organist, says she likes change and is adjusting well, but she still misses St. Mary the Virgin. “I loved my little church…. I miss its windows, I miss its ambience, I miss the acoustics. …. It’s such a small church. St. Helen’s is a different proposition. It’s a very professional layout and excellently laid out for music… It doesn’t have the same feel because it’s bigger, but it takes time to get to know people. …And the only way you do that is to get involved with groups within the church,  so many of us are doing that. And I think over time, that’s what it takes to do a successful merger.” She added that everybody’s been very kind, introducing themselves and asking questions about SMTV and how we’d like to be involved in St. Helens.

Waters sees a rich exchange in the blending of these two worshipping communities. The people who came from St. Mary the Virgin, she said, “were so brave and so truthful and so faithful, and I think the St. Helen’s people who are paying attention, have really seen that. And it’s contributed to a renewal, I think, here at St. Helen’s of really kind of missional orientations, so it’s been a real gift.”

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