There are still a few of us present at Graceview who remember Jack Fenwick and Len Swatridge, the original founders of our church newsletter/magazine Graceviews.. It started its life as “Amazing Grace”. At the amalgamation of the Grace and Hillview congregations in 2000, it was given a new name, and Pat Krieger joined Len and Jack as assistant editor.
The copy that I have chosen as an example is from 21 years ago, March 2005. In it, there is an article by Jack (see The Road to Emmaus elsewhere in this issue) a Minister’s Message from Rev. Jan Hieminga, Len’s monthly article “Quotes and Comments for Concerned Christians”, an article about Out of the Cold, a plea from the editors for more volunteers to provide material and to help with the production, a submission by Harry Learoyd called “Music Notes”, and a story about the activities of Graceview’s Youth Group. It was interesting to see that some of the content of that issue concerned things that no longer exist at Graceview, and some content reported on activities that continue today.
There was an enormously large staff:
Editors: Len Swatridge, Pat Krieger, and Jack Fenwick
Editorial Committee: Lorraine Brown, Bill Downie, Barb Hayworth, Jan Hieminga, Terri James, Harry Learoyd, Betty Tapping, Heather Wade, Jenna Wilkinson, and Cam Taylor
Production: Dale Jarvis, Elsa White, Mary Dobson, Lenore Carty, Loreen McCormack, Kate McDougall, Edna and Harold Schroeder, Marg Antram, Bea Easton, and Nancy McPherson. It is very sad to see how few of these people are still with us.
All these people were needed to handle the work involved in producing a cut-and-paste, non-computerized, meaty and interesting church newsletter to which many congregants contributed. Every issue featured a front cover drawn by resident artist the late Jack Fenwick, an interesting article by Jack, at least one and often several articles by Len, and much interesting news and views from congregants. Len once told me that he and Jack spent at least 12 hours each, working on an issue before it was ready for publication
Jack Fenwick wrote an article for every issue of Amazing Grace/Graceviews until he died in 2010. When in the Fall of 2006 Len reluctantly realized that illness would not allow him to continue, Elaine Chu graciously stepped up and volunteered to take over the production of Graceviews, and I agreed to assist with writing and editing. The first thing Elaine did was to computerize it and change the format from 8 ½ by 11 stapled sheets, to its present booklet form. This significantly sped up production and made it possible to publish it monthly from October to June. It also drastically reduced the number of people needed to put it together, and Elaine maintained – indeed, improved – the quality of Graceviews, putting out a monthly issue almost single-handedly, with some help from me. During Covid, with the advent of the Weekly News which kept us well informed and up to date, I decided that monthly issues of Graceviews were no longer necessary. I cut production to every second month and introduced a summer edition, for six issues a year.
I continued Jack’s legacy of writing an article for every issue on a wide variety of topics that interested me, that I was hoping might interest some of you. I didn’t know Jack well, but I know that when he passed away, Graceview lost a cherished member and an exceptional writer and artist, who contributed his authorship and drawing skills to every issue of Graceviews for many years. It was Jack’s line drawings that appeared on the illustrated covers, and this heritage was continued for several years after Elaine and I took it over.
I did know Len well, however, and considered him a good friend. He was a talker, and I fondly remember many parking lot conversations on a variety of subjects, struck up as we were about to head home after choir practice. He sang in our church choir for decades, in the days when the back row was full of tenors and basses and the choir could present an anthem in four voices every Sunday. When I first joined the choir in 2002 my position was right in front of him, and I loved to hear his strong bass voice singing out behind me. I would often find myself smiling, because Len knew most of our regular repertoire of hymns by heart and would sing the words he remembered, not the altered inclusive words that many of our hymns now use. Len died of cancer in 2013, and I miss him to this day.
In January 2013, I was surprised by Elaine’s sudden decision to retire from Graceviews. That left me with a bit of a dilemma, knowing that I did not want to let Len’s legacy die. Could I continue on my own? Would I need to recruit help? How would I manage without the excellent computer work done every month by Elaine and Joseph? After some thought, I decided to try producing an issue or two on my own and see how it went. There was a steep learning curve to manage the computer work, but Elaine provided me with a basic template for the format and my tech-savvy husband helped me learn what I needed to know. With the use of the computer, the production had become basically a one-person job and I was determined to keep it going.
What should not be a one-person job, however, is the content – but over the years since I have been the sole producer of Graceviews, it seems to have evolved that way. As our membership numbers have dwindled, so have the number of people willing and able to contribute content. I am always delighted on the rare occasions when someone gives me something for publication. You will note that there is an excellent article in this issue written by Anna Cherniak, which was most appreciated.
Graceviews is not mine alone, but belongs to all of us, my friends and fellow congregants. It is meant to serve as an open forum, not only to announce upcoming events and report on past events, but to share whatever interests you and, very importantly, to chronicle our history. I will say again, if it interests you, it is bound to interest someone else.
Been on a trip lately? Read a good book? Seen a good movie? Have a particular interest or hobby such as art or music or birdwatching? Want to share a human-interest story about your family? What are your family’s holiday traditions? For our newcomers from other countries, we would love to learn something about your country of birth and your life there. All such topics – and any others you can think of – are quite suitable fodder for Graceviews. I love doing Graceviews but would love to include bylines other than my own. I have no plans to discontinue it any time soon, and trust that it is something that continues to be valued by our church family.