ST. JOHN'S
ANGLICAN CHURCH
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FRIEND, YOU ENTERED HERE NOT AS A STRANGER, BUT AS A FRIEND OF GOD
St. John‟s Anglican Church in Stewarttown has come a long way since its establishment in 1834. This year the people of St. John‟s are excited about celebrating 185 years of „presence and ministry‟ in the Stewarttown community! On May 5, 1819, the early Anglican settlers opened a cemetery on land donated by James Randall (Deed registered Apr. 10, 1833). At that time, Anglicans were few and people met in homes and were visited by missionary priests, who travelled when weather permitted. One of the first homes where services were held was that of George Thompson. By January 1834, the Anglican settlers in Stewarttown had collected approximately 80 pounds of sterling to begin building a church. St. John‟s was probably one of the first Anglican parishes established in Upper Canada. The settlers had decided to build their church on the hill beside the cemetery (on the east side of Trafalgar Road, north of the 15 Side Road). Concern was expressed about selecting such an elevated location. Apparently the framework for the church was erected but never completed. In 1849, a second donation of land (1/5 acre south of cemetery) was made by Wm. Morrison. There is mention in a letter by Archbishop Strachan in March 1852 about the members of the Church in Stewarttown needing encouragement to enable them to complete their church “as to render it fit for public worship.” Unfortunately early church records were destroyed in a fire in 1908, so we may never know if there was a building completed for worship at that time.
In 1834 Rev. Adam Elliot became the first missionary priest assigned to St. John‟s. In a journal entry, dated January 1834, Rev. Elliot writes, “On Sunday the 19th I performed divine service and preached twice at the house of Mr. Thompson, to a very numerous and attentive assemblage of people. Five children were baptized and 27 persons received the Sacrament of the Lord‟s Supper.” Missionary priests brought Bibles, Prayer Books and other religious publications (published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) to the destitute settlers. Lay people carried out worship services using the Prayer Books in the absence of clergy. The first confirmation ceremony for area settlers was not held until July 25, 1846 when Archbishop Strachan travelled from York (modern day Toronto) to perform the ceremony at St. Stephen‟s Anglican Church in Hornby. It may be that there was no actual church building in Stewarttown until 1880 when the Anglicans (known then as Episcopalians) purchased the Wesleyan Methodist Church. A chancel and vestry were added and the church was open for worship in 1883. In June 1884, Bishop Thomas Brock Fuller, the first Bishop of the newly formed Niagara diocese, consecrated the church.
In 1897 St. John‟s partnered with St. Stephen‟s in Hornby and in 1903, the amalgamation expanded to include St. Paul‟s, Norval. Up until 1908, clergy serving these parishes had to find their own living accommodations. In 1908 the McGuire home on the 15th Side Road in Stewarttown (across from the present St. John‟s) was purchased as the first rectory and Rev. S. Clewes Noxon moved in. In 1919 the Stewarttown rectory was sold and another rectory was purchased in Norval in 1922. The Norval rectory was sold in 1961 and a new rectory was built beside St. Stephen‟s church in Hornby. (All these homes still remain). In 1961 a new partnership was formed between St. John‟s and St. Stephen‟s and that partnership continued until May 2008.
More information about St. John's Church you will find here: THE HISTORY
Bishop Susan Bell
Bishop of Niagara
Rev. Audrius Sarka
Interim Pastor
St. John's Wardens
We are grateful for the hard work of our St. John's Church Wardens Mr. William Ross (Rector's Warden), Mrs. Barbara Mansfield (People's Warden), Mr. George English (Deputy Rector's Warden), Ms. Dorothy Zebedee (Deputy People's Warden)
Mrs. Barbara Mansfield
People's Warden
Ms. Dorothy Zebedee
Deputy People's Warden
Mr. William Ross
Rector's Warden
Mr. George English
Deputy Rector's Warden
These have ministered:
Following is a list, as accurate as possible, of the clergymen who have served St. John’s Church, Stewarttown
1834-1835 Rev. Adam Elliot
1835-1836 Rev. Henry H. O'Neil
1836-1839 Rev. George Graham
1841-1842 Rev. R. MacGeorge
1843-1844 Rev. G. W. Warr
1845-1848 Rev. R. MacGeorge
1849-1852 Rev. Donald Fraser
1853-1856 Rev. Thomas W. Marsh
1857-1859 Rev. Francis Tremayne Jr.
1859-1860 Rev. Charles Dade
1861-1867 Rev. Frederick A. O'Meara
1868-1869 Rev. Henry Hayward
1870-1871 Rev. J.G. MacCarthur
1872-1873 Rev. James MacKeridge
1873-1874 Rev. Nickolas C. Martin
1886-1887 Rev. Henry A. Bowden
1893-1896 Rev. Joseph Fennell
1892-1896 Rev. P. Mignot
1897-1899 Rev. Richard V. MacNamara
1899-1901 Rev. Wilson McCann
1901-1903 Rev. R.F. Nie
1904-1912 Rev. S. Clewes Noxon
1913-1918 Rev. Grassett Smith
1919-1920 Rev. Joe Rodgers
1920-1923 Rev. E.V. Twiss
1923-1926 Rev. W.A. Kyle
1927-1935 Rev. Robert S. Boyd
1935-1936 Rev. F.C. Jackson
1937-1940 Rev. Wm G. Brooks
1941-1945 Rev. S. Ronald Colebrooke
1946-1947 Rev. H. Leigh-Pink
1947-1975 Rev. James E. Maxwell
1975-1978 Rev. Duncan MacLean
1978-1983 Rev. David Sinclair
1984-1987 Rev. Donald Lee
1988-1992 Rev. Margaret Murray
1992-1997 Rev. Timothy Morgan
1998-2005 Rev. Timothy Novis
2005 Rev. John Roberts
2005 Rev. Marni Nancekivell
2006-2008 Rev. Daniel Tatarnic
2008 Rev. John Roberts
2008 Rev. Marni Nancekivell
2008-2010 Rev. Terry DeForest
2009 Rev. John Roberts
2010-2013 Rev. Margaret Murray
2010 Rev. John Roberts
2010-2015 Rev. Joan Dunn
2014-2016 Rev. Sue Nichols
2017-2020. Rev. Wendy Phipps
2020- Rev. Audrius Sarka
Churchwardens
of St. John's, Stewarttown
1908-2020
Rector's Wardens
J.R. Thomson 1908, 1918, 1919
Jas. L. Standish 1909, 1910
George B. Thomson 1911-1913
Richard Mills 1914-1916
Norman Thompson 1917
F.J. Murray 1920
Bert Thompson 1921
John Bird 1922-1939, 1941-1946
Joseph Standish 1940
Gilbert English 1947-1948
Ken Murray 1949
Sam Mileham 1951-1955
Wm. Walker 1956, 1957
Roy Smith 1958-1961
Harvey Clare 1962-1963
John Ottoway 1964-1965
Tom Warnes 1966-1969
Ken Grant 1970-1972
John Mills 1973-1977
Bob Gracey 1978-1979
Keith Gillett 1980-1981
Bob Harris 1982-1983
June Ross 1984-1986
Joan Hayes 1987-1993, 2014
Barbara Mansfield 1997-2006
Gary Henrich 2007
Maureen Batten 2008-2013
Will Ross 2015-2020
People's Wardens
Wm. Ashenhurst 1908, 1916
Henry Wilson 1908-1911, 1918
George Wilson 1912
Dr. John Standish 1913-1914
J.R. Thompson 1915, 1917
George B. Thompson 1919-1921
Jas. L. Standish 1922-1923
J.A. Brown 1924-1925
Jos. Sanford 1926-1950
Wm. Hulls 1951-1956
T. Howard Briggs 1957-1981
Bert Tripp 1982-1985
George English 1986-1990
Rosemarie Curry 1991-1993
Gerry Caird 1997
Joan Hayes 1998
Valerie Cowling 1999-2006
Claude Jacob 2007
Larry Dawson 2007-2010
Michael Mansfield 2011-2015
Barbara Mansfield 2016-2020
Deputy Wardens
Lillian Stewart 1991-1993
George English 1997, 2012-2020
Valerie Cowling 1998
Joan Hayes 1999-2003, 2010
Gary Henrichs 2004-2006
Larry Dawson 2006-2010
Will Ross 2014
Kathy Kerr 2016-2019
Dorothy Zebedee 2020-