Our History

St. Anselm’s Church opened in 1953. The congregation itself though was born in 1927 when the Anglican Theological College at UBC invited the residents of the endowment lands to worship together.St. Anselm's Church Building In those early years St. Anselm’s was the ‘village church’ for what was then a sparsely populated semi-rural area around UBC. We still have many parishioners who live and work at UBC and the surrounding area but we also have many who come to us from around Vancouver to enjoy the unique mix of ages and cultural backgrounds in our membership. The membership of St. Anselm’s includes a number of UBC students (both undergrad and graduate) as well as young families, ‘middle-agers’ and seniors. Being a university parish means that our worshiping congregation includes people from all over the world including India, Asia, Africa, South America, England, various European countries, the United States … and Canada of course! The people of St. Anselm’s are always ready and eager to welcome new people of whatever background.

St. Anselm’s is named after a saint who was Archbishop of Canterbury almost 1000 years ago. Anselm was a scholar and a theologian and he was made the patron saint of the new parish to honour its position as a university area church.

Since it opened, St. Anselm’s has been bringing people from different countries and backgrounds together in worship and service.  Our motto is “Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here!”  So come and join us this Sunday!