Chapter Nine Part Two.
Philip Hewett an English-born minister towered above most people in the Unitarian church in height and vision. It was he way back in 1956 who pulled the church's members together and gave them a new vision. He persuaded them to raise money to fund a new church on the corner of Oak Street and 49th Avenue.
"I was scared about what woulds happen," one member of the time told me years later. "I had taken out a mortgage on my house to help build the new church. And I wasn't the only one to do that."" Yet in the end everything worked out well.
Yet now in the 1990's Hewett stepped down as minister. A power vacuum opened up in the church and problems loomed ahead. I knew little of the church's history or the history of Unitarianism when I first came to this place in August 1989. Still, for the the next ten years or so, I came to this place of worship many times on Sunday mornings.
At the same time I used my new bus pass that came with my disability status to travel many times across Metro Vancouver. I spent beautiful days in places like Kitsilano Beach, Tatlow Park that was also in Kitsilano, Jericho Beach on the city's far west side, English Bay in the city's West End, and many other places. I came to these spots to draw pictures and soak up the sun.
For the first time in many years I finally felt at home and content with my life. It was a beautiful feeling. Yet alas, it didn't last forever.
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