The Spirit of Kincaid Street
Long before it was paved with houses and traffic, the land that is now Kincaid Street was part of a rolling woodland. Streams ran quietly through what we now call Burnaby, carrying salmon, medicine, and stories. Indigenous peoples walked those trails with reverence, listening to the voices of the trees and the unseen spirits that guarded the land.
When settlers arrived, the landscape shifted. Fields were carved, homes were raised, and names were laid down like spells. One of those names was Kincaid.
The word Kincaid is rich with layers. Rooted in the old Scottish tongue, it carries meanings like battle leader’s hill and head of the pass. To me, it sounds like a word of guardianship — a place of refuge, a name that holds ground.
Spiritually, it speaks of standing firm at the threshold between worlds: the hill where you look out, the gate where you pass through, the stone that says, “I will hold this place.”
And so, as the community grew, Kincaid Street became more than a line on a map. It was a meeting ground between old and new — where First Nations roots mingled with immigrant dreams, where the sacred and the everyday overlapped. Over time, the land surrounding Kincaid held churches, schools, cemeteries, and healing centres. Souls passed through, leaving their imprints like lanterns along the path.
“When I walk Kincaid Street today, especially near the First United Spiritualist Church, I don’t just see pavement and cars. I feel that hum — the continuity of prayer, grief, laughter, and song.”
Kincaid’s story, then, is not only about a street. It is about continuity, guardianship, and passage — the way land remembers, the way names carry spirit, and the way we, too, are asked to hold space for those who come after us.
The Legacy of Healing Gatherings Continues
-A Spiritual History of the Chapel of Peace & the First United Spiritualist Church Of Vancouver, located in Burnaby, British Columbia • Heritage Building — 1936 (as presented on August 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM)
The Legacy of Healing Gatherings Continues
Here we are — 107 years, 2 months, 3 days, 19 hours, and 35 minutes since the Vancouver Society of Spiritualism was founded on June 21, 1918.
And what has carried us through all those years? The Seven Principles of Spiritualism. They are the golden thread that runs through our history — from the Fox Sisters, to our founders, to the Chapel of Peace, to this very moment. 
Hydesville, 1848 — The Spark of Spiritualism
Our story does not begin in Vancouver. It begins in a small farmhouse in Hydesville, New York, 1848. Two young sisters — Margaret and Kate Fox — encouraged by their older sister Leah — discovered that the raps and knocks they heard were messages from Spirit. That farmhouse became the birthplace of a movement. The Fox Sisters proved: the soul survives.
Communication with the departed is possible.
Vancouver, 1918 — A Society is Born! The First World War had ended, leaving thousands of empty chairs at family tables. The Spanish Flu was sweeping through Vancouver, bringing even more grief. In that moment, five trustees stepped forward: Charles H. Green — the steady organizer. Minnie E. Long — a compassionate pioneer. Walter E. Pease — the provider, with business sense. Margaret L. Ross — remembered fo
r her warmth and conviction. Thomas W. McCallum — the visionary. With architect Peter L. Smith, they founded the Vancouver Society of Spiritualism.
The Principles gave them grounding: Fatherhood of God; Brotherhood of Man; Communion of Spirits…over 100 years ago.
The Struggles of the 1930s — Ballantyne Pier
The Great Depression weighed heavily. And in Vancouver, one of Canada’s fiercest labor struggles erupted: the Battle of Ballantyne Pier. On June 18, 1935, a thousand longshoremen clashed with police and Mounties. For three hours: fists, clubs, tear gas. They were beaten back. But their sacrifice bore fruit — by 1937, the ILWU union was born. Spiritualists, too, faced their struggles. Mediumship mocked, gatherings dismissed, recognition denied. They endured with the Principles: Personal Responsibility; Compensation & Retribution for Deeds; Eternal Progress.
The Chapel of Peace — 1936
In 1936, a sacred building rose: the Chapel of Peace at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. It stood on a small triangular lot — poised between realms of living and dead. Its architecture spoke:
Arched windows lifting the eye heavenward. Vaulted ceilings carrying voices of prayer. A white façade, welcoming all families. From 1936 to 1955, thousands entered its doors: funerals,
memorials, healing circles, messages of Spirit. Here the Principles were lived daily: Fatherhood of God; Brotherhood of Man; Communion of Spirits. St. Columba’s Anglican Years — 1955 to 1970
In 1955, the Anglican Diocese purchased and relocated the chapel to Kincaid Street. It became St. Columba’s Anglican Church, led by Rev. Gordon McKenzie. For 15 years, Anglicans worshipped here: crosses in the windows, baptisms, weddings, Eucharist. And yet the chapel never forgot its first name: Peace.Even in Anglican years, the Principles whispered: Personal Responsibility; Eternal Progress.
A Permanent Home for FUSC — 1971
At last, in April 1971, under Rev. Alice Wilmot — a gifted medium and teacher — and President George H. Whitney, the chapel was entrusted to the First United Spiritualist Church. After more than fifty y
ears of wandering, Spiritualists had a permanent home. The chapel was reborn as both a church and the Kincaid Healing Centre. Here, the Principles became lived reality: Healing hands; Inspired messages; Development classes; Eternal progress through teaching and mentorship.
The Land and Its Legacy
This is Coast Salish land — Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory. Long before 1918, ceremonies here honored ancestors, sought healing, and affirmed Spirit. Their traditions mirror ours: What we call mediumship, they know as ancestral connection. What we call healing circles, they have always practiced. Across the road lies Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where more than 20,000 souls rest. A daily reminder of the Continuous Existence of the Human Soul.
Even the streets speak: Kincaid — “battle leader,” guardian between worlds. Teal — healing truth, the throat chakra. Royal Oak — strength, endurance, remembrance. Together, they echo the Principles. A Living Flame
Think of what has happened in these walls: Grief met with comfort. Hands joined in healing. Laughter in song. Messages from Spirit, received with awe. Every candle lit here joins thousands already burning. Every song echoes a century of voices. Every prayer adds to the prayers already embedded in these walls. The Seven Principles are not abstract. They are alive here — in this chapel, in us.
So here we are — 107 years, 2 months, 3 days, 19 hours, and now nearly 20 minutes later. From the Fox Sisters’ farmhouse in 1848… To the trustees of Vancouver in 1918… To the Chapel of Peace in 1936… To St. Columba in 1955… To Rev. Alice Wilmot and George H.Whitney in 1971… To us gathered tonight… Every chapter is tied together by the Seven Principles of Spiritualism. They are why this church has endured. They are why the legacy of healing gatherings continues. And we are its keepers.
“Thank you for being part of the legacy.”
First United Spiritualist Church — Chapel of Peace
Burnaby, British Columbia
Founded 1918 — Heritage Building 1936
written by: A. Turner | guest speaker