Heaven is for Carpenters

The doors of the 100+ year old St Bonaventure church at the head of Tracadie Bay were glass and aluminum when I first arrived in the community. They had been modernized sometime in the seventies. When renovations were done, a local man, Mike Smith, repaired the original doors and replaced the glass with the heavy wood portals of previous years. It’s a beautiful old church with multiple brass plaques to acknowledge the many donations of furnishings, windows and statues over it’s lifespan. There is no such sign on the door. Mike Smith’s donation of time and effort on the doors only came to my attention at his funereal. Like all Island communities, much of the work that is done to build and sustain community is anonymous and thankless. This song is a tribute to him and his kind.

Heaven is for Carpenters

Heaven is for carpenters who build the doors of churches Hoping for a just reward, one that can’t be purchased Doors that greet the sunrise and the early morning traffic The sounds of old men talking over the heads of children walking Through these doors

Every building needs a door like rivers they need bridges And every door needs a carpenter, to hang it on its hinges And the labour of his hands blesses each women every man Each child of God who climbs these steps to stand Between these doors

People dream of pearly gates all lined with precious jewels But churches doors are built with boards, cut and joined by tools There is a place for carpenters who build the doors of churches Doors they never lock up tight to keep out any person

Heaven is for carpenters who build the doors of churches That open wide and stand aside for anyone who searches Within these doors