A liturgist approaching her 100th birthday will be honored by the Lutheran and Anglican Churches in Canada for her work on The Book of Alternative Services. Blanche Kate Gates and the Rev. Eric Dyck will receive the Companion of the Worship Arts honor at the National Anglican and Lutheran Worship Conference scheduled for July 16-19 in Victoria, British Columbia.
The award has its roots in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and has been presented jointly with the Anglican Church of Canada since 2014. Every two years, the award recognizes the “immense gifts and offerings of a particular individual to the worship life of each church at the local and national level,” the Anglican Church of Canada said in a statement.
Gates “played a vital role in the development of contemporary liturgy in the Anglican Church of Canada as part of the task force that developed the Book of Alternative Services,” the statement said. “As a member of the national Doctrine and Worship Committee in the early 1980s, Gates interpreted the work of the committee to prepare for the publication of the [Book of Alternative Services]. During this period, she read many liturgical texts and commentaries — including experimental liturgical texts developed in the 1960s and 70s, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer published in the US, and the Roman Missal as revised by Pope Paul VI — to expand her knowledge and facilitate the work of the task force.”
The award also recognizes her work as president of Anglican Church Women for the Diocese of British Columbia. “As a member of the Altar Guild and talented seamstress, she has consistently offered valuable assistance with linens, vestments, and parish and diocesan fabric banners that today enhance the worship space of Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria and various parishes,” the statement said.
“Reflecting her passion for quilting, Gates created the ‘Tree of Life’ quilt for St Paul’s, and sewed a stole and chasuble based on the same theme for the congregation. As she prepares to mark her 100th birthday, her contributions to worship and liturgy at the national level continue to influence the way Anglicans across the country interpret and practice their faith.”
Eric Dyck is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Montreal, a role he combines with teaching liturgy and supervising seminarians at Montreal Diocesan Theological College. He lectures on eucharistic development and history, oversees workshops on presiding, text delivery, movement in the liturgy, and offers extensive consulting on adapting appropriate liturgies into various settings.
“His contributions to the worship life of his church, in all of its expressions, are well known and extend beyond his own Lutheran tradition,” the church’s statement said. “He has contributed to the worship life of the church in the local, synodical, national and even international levels.”
Adapted from ACNS
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
