Cozy Church of Christ celebrates 135th anniversary in Port Albert

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This year marks the 135th anniversary of Christ Anglican Church in Port Albert.

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For three centuries, the small church was at the center of the social and spiritual life of Port Albert. The small yellow brick Gothic-style church has survived the social fads and religious trends that have led to the demise of many of the larger, more famous churches in the area. Its continued survival, despite all odds, is a testament to its identity as the core of the community.

John Hawkins, a layman, held Anglican services in the town of Ashfield as early as the 1840s. In the early years, services were held in log cabins, barns, schoolhouses, and at camp meetings. According to History of Port Albert, Hawkins asked Toronto Bishop John Strachan in 1848 to provide a traveling clergyman to meet the needs of local Anglicans. It was not until 1859 that Bishop Benjamin Cronin appointed a missionary priest, the Rev. Robert Roberts, to serve in three parishes in the townships of Colborne, Wawanosh and Ashfield.

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In 1874 the parish was prosperous enough to build a Union Church with a Presbyterian congregation, where joint though separate services were held. In 1889, the Anglican parish built the present small church in Gothic style with a spire and bell to call the faithful to services on land donated by the Hawkins family (it was not until 1899 that the parish paid for the property). Carrie used his own money to purchase and donate an organ made by the Goderich Organ Company, which became Christ Church’s first organ. The first service was held at the Port Albert Episcopal Church on March 26, 1890. Although it was known as Christ Church almost from the beginning, it was not until 1897 that Bishop M. S. Baldwin officially dedicated it as Christ Church.

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The church was built just in time to maintain ties to Anglicanism as its adherents moved to other denominations. In January 1890 Clinton New Era noted that the Nile District Methodist Church converted 70 new members, 12 of them Anglicans, at a revival meeting in Sheppardton. After 14 years, Reverend Carrie left the parish. Carrie’s tenure was successful: he baptized 287 children, confirmed 235 people and conducted 126 funerals in the three Ashfield parishes in which he served.

In 1901 the Women’s Guild, the forerunner of the Women’s Church of England, was formed. The Women’s Guild provided the organizational backbone of Christchurch, organizing the annual Bird Supper, Quilt Bees, Oyster Suppers, Women’s Aid, Anglican Youth Association, Point Farm Hotel picnics and other church events that became core Christchurch traditions. Port Albert Community.

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For the Christmas service in 1911, 273 people were gathered in the tiny church. However, Christ Church was never just a building for worship; it also hosted travelogues, plays, packed lunches, literary evenings and other social events.

Christchurch had cause to celebrate the success of one of its churches in 1909 when Walter Hawkins fulfilled the ambitions of his grandfather John Hawkins and was ordained an Anglican priest at Huron College, London. Keeping a minister in a remote parish seemed to be a challenge as Christ Church was twinned with the larger St Paul’s Church in Dungannon where the parish was located. With Sunday services starting at 2pm, Christ Church was the smaller part of Dungannon. During the 30-year period from 1905 to 1935, the Christchurch pulpit was occupied by 17 ministers.

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When Reverend Wallace Ellison enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915, his wife took over his service for the duration of the war. Captain Ellison served overseas as a hospital chaplain, although on one occasion he found himself close enough to the front lines to suffer minor effects from a gas attack. Allison never returned to Christ Church.

During the interwar years, Christchurch continued to be a bustle of activity, hosting baptisms, weddings and funerals. In 1926, when the Women’s Guild celebrated its Silver Jubilee, at least five women of the founding membership were still in service with the Guild. Among the causes that the Women’s Guild supported were donating clothing to First Nations reserves in northern Canada, supporting an orphanage, and, in the 1930s, helping the poor.

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The Great Depression era also forced Christ Church and St Paul’s Cathedral in Dungannon to merge with St Peter’s Cathedral in Lucknow and St Paul’s Cathedral in Ripley. In the context of the economic crisis, it became difficult for rural parishioners to support the parish church and the rector. Long-time resident Ralph Foster served as the church’s treasurer for 40 years, beginning in the late 1930s. He recalled that “often the amount of the collection did not cover the minister’s salary. I would put the proceeds into my account and pay the minister by personal check and it would all balance out at the end of the year,” he said. History of Port Albert.

Foster was the priest of Christ Church for more than 70 years until he died aged 101 in 2017.

During World War II, another minister, Rev. A. A. Maloney, went to an RCAF base in western Canada. With the RAF Port Albert airbase nearby, it would have been difficult for any Anglican clergyman of military age to remain at Christ Church. The parish continued to support the airmen at the airfield, inviting them into their homes for Christmas and holidays, and supporting their efforts in general.

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After the war, the Church of Christ, like every other denomination, saw its membership decline. In 1972, St Paul’s Cathedral, Dungannon, closed, leaving Christ Church twinned with St George’s Cathedral, Goderich. However, despite declining footfall, Christchurch remained strong and celebrated its history with memorial windows. In 1955, chancel windows were installed for the Foster family and members of the Women’s Guild. Families who had supported the church for many generations—the Fosters, the Tigers, the Hawkins, the Haydens and others—were dedicated, perpetuating the rich origins of the parish for so long.

Ironically, the Nile United Church, the same church that caused Christ Church to lose so many adherents in 1890, closed in March 2011. The Nile Church presented its wooden cross to the Church of Christ, which was gratefully received and consecrated in 175 in Port Albert.^th anniversary celebration.

The Rev Dr Justin Comber is the latest in a long line of ministers to lead the Christchurch pulpit. At 21^st. century, Christ Church continues to meet the spiritual and social needs of its members. May the cozy little Church of Christ continue to call believers to worship and challenge trends and fads and continue into a long and unpredictable future.

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