Lögberg-Heimskringla - 10.09.1999, Blaðsíða 7

Lögberg-Heimskringla « Föstudagur 10. september 1999 » 7
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A Window into John Arnason's Life
Kevin Jón Johnson
Reverend Wayne Arnason led a
ceremony on Sunday, 1 August
1999 to dedicate a stained glass
window in honour of his father, John
Julius Arnason (1925-1998), at 11 a.m.
at the Gimli Unitarian Church.
Reverend Amason spoke of the
inspired tradition of stained glass win-
dows in Europe, created over many
centuries, to produce an eflfect of awe
and reverence. The magnificent rose
windows, with their various colours,
resemble the various religious perspec-
tives found in the world. Each piece of
glass bends the light in a diflferent way,
and all of the colours make one picture,
like the many religious ways to under-
stand our lives.
At one time, only saints and kings
had stained glass windows dedicated in
their honour. But in more recent times,
such windows have been commis-
sioned to honour church leaders or to
remember families which had a strong
association with the church. Today,
reverend Arnason continued, we fol-
low both of these traditions with a win-
dow produced in Winnipeg by Prairie
Glass, and commissioned by the
Arnason family.
“John Arnason wed Lilja Johnson,
and had four children, including me,”
Wayne Arnason added. “Marrying
Lilja meant marrying into the Unitarian
Church.” They raised their family in
Winnipeg, and attended the Unitarian
Church there.
The empty and dilapidated Gimli
Unitarian Church created both curiosi-
ty and sadness in Wayne, during his
early adulthood. With the efforts of
John and Lilja Arnason, and other ded-
icated people in the community, the
church now stands in a reformed and
useful state. For these reasons, the
appearance of the vibrant and multi-
coloured stained glass window in hon-
our of John Arnason in this church pro-
vides the family with particular joy.
Reverend Wayne Arnason
described the window on the north side
wall, clear to the view of all who filled
the little Church. The flaming chalice
towards the top and centre is a
Unitarian syrnbol. Two buildings
appear prominently in the composition,
the Gimli Public School and the Gimli
Unitarian Church. “These were retire-
ment projects for dad, which brought
some recognition to him,” Wayne con-
tinued. “I would not be surprised if this
is the only stained glass window in the
world to show a hydro-electric proj-
ect!”
John Arnason earned his Bachelor
of Science in Electrical Engineering in
1948 from the University of Manitoba,
and immediately joined Manitoba
Hydro as an electrical engineer. He
worked on electrifying northern
Manitoba, and in constructing hydro-
electric dams and power lines to sup-
port the energy needs of Winnipeg, so
the dam and river have a rightful place
in the centre of the window’s coinposi-
tion. John became General Manager
for Corpora'te Operations in 1975.
From 1983 until his retirement in 1986,
John served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Manitoba Hydro.
A series of strawberries form the
lower border of the window, represent-
ing John’s first job as a strawberry
picker, where he earned twenty-five
cents a day, and established a founda-
tion to his working life by demonstrat-
ing the hard work and integrity that
marked all of his eflforts. The floral
motifs, showing the provincial flower
of Manitoba, the prairie crocus, and the
white holtasóley of Iceland, which may
soon become the nationai flower of the
north Atlantic nation, represent the
equal pride that John took in his
Canadian and Icelandic heritage.
Reverend Wayne Arnason added,
“Only his family life is missing from
the window, but we have many living
representatives of that family here
today. We dedicate this window to the
spirit of caring, of service, and of
courage that we found embodied in the
life of John Amason.”
The rest of the Order of Worship
for that Sunday included opening
words from the writings of the founder
of Unitarianism, Francis Dávid, words
of welcome by Reverend Stefan
Jonasson, prayers and hymns, and a
sermon on pilgrimage by Reverend
Wayne Amason and his wife Reverend
Kathleen Rolenz, which told of the
couple’s return to the ancestral home of
Kathleen and the historical origins of
Unitarianism amongst the Hungarian
people of Transylvania.
John Julius Arnason was born in
Gimli, the son of Vilhjalmur and
Gudrun Arnason.
Above: the stained glass win-
dow commemorating the life of
John Arnason.
Below: (left to right) Christine
Brooks, Gary Arnason, Lilja
Arnason, Wayne Arnason,
Kathleen Rolenz, and Sarah
Arnason—the Arnasons in front
of Gimli Unitarian Church.
Photos: Kevin Jón Johnson
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