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ABOUT US

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FRIEND, YOU ENTERED HERE NOT AS A STRANGER, BUT AS A FRIEND OF GOD
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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

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Bishop Susan Bell
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Bishop of Niagara

Rev. Audrius Sarka
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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 
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People's Warden

Ms. Dorothy Zebedee
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Deputy People's Warden

Mr. William Ross
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Rector's Warden

Mr. George English
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Deputy Rector's Warden

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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-

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