St. John the Evangelist (New Liskeard, Ont.) is part of the multi-point Northern Lights Anglican Parish (Haileybury, Ont.).
The first Anglican services in New Liskeard were read by layman Paul Cobbold on November 5, 1853. By 1893 services were being held at the home of William Murray and Anne Beavis.
The first Anglican church in New Liskeard was built in 1899 at the corner of Rebecca and Elm streets in New Liskeard. This building was done as the bare-minimum, meeting a grant deadline. It was gradually outfitted with an altar, seats, altar rail, vestry, entrance porch, lectern, reading desk, hymn books, organ belfry and bell, chancel chair, stove and chimney between 1902 and 1904. In 1906 the parsonage was built, which was then damaged in a small fire in 1923 and was rebuilt and enlarged until the new rectory was built in 1941. Following the dismantling of the old building a new modern rectory was built on the same lot in 1967.The church had electric lights installed in 1907 and was gifted a new clock in 1908 by Mr. James Redpath.
The church bought three lots in 1911 with the hopes of building a new church to accommodate the population distribution change after the railroad was built. With the delay caused by the First World War, the lots were becoming expensive and unused. The lots were not sold until 1928 when two new lots were donated by Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Cole. In October 1930 the new church was completed and opened on November 5. St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church was consecrated on June 24, 1941 by Bishop George Kingston. In 1944 an altar built and carved by one of the parishioners was dedicated.
Between 1915 and 1920 women were increasingly involved in the vestry meetings, and the proposal for their right to vote in these meetings was brought up multiple times, but never seemed to be carried to its end. In 1920 the Synod confirmed the women’s right to vote in the vestry meetings. .
In 1981 the congregation of St. John the Evangelist unanimously decided to proceed with a total restoration of the church which would see interior plaster repaired, cracks fixed, a new ceiling and stained glass window installed, and repairs to exterior brickwork. The renovations took approximately 12 weeks and the church reopened in September 1981 following the repairs.
Incumbents have included: Rev. H. Robinson Codd (1900-1904), Mr. E. C. Southey (catechist) (1903-1904), Mr. H. E. Dunn (catechist) (1904), Rev. Gowan Gillmor (1904), Rev. R. A. Cowling (1904-1905), Rev. A. P. Banks (1905-1906), Rev. W. G. Swainson (1906), Rev. A. T. Lowe (1906-1911), Rev. J. B. Lindsell (1911-1914), Mr. Statham (1914), Cannon H. A. Sims (1914-1915), Rev. F. W. Colloton (1915-1916), Rev. F. W. Clayton (1916), Rev. A. J. Oakley (1916-1918), Rev. A. Cooper (1918), Rev. J. Templeton (1919), Rev. Franklin-Watson (1919-1920), Mr. J. N. White (1920), Mr. H. A. Day (1920), Canon F. H. Hincks (1920), Rev. W. N. Whitely (1921-1927), Rev. A.P. Banks (1927), Rev. C. Glover (1927-1930), Rev. E. A. Irwin (1930-1934), Rev. R. H. Fleming (1934-1941), Rev. Stephen Turner (1941-1949), Rev. N. Knox (1950-1953), Rev. A.L. Chabot (1953-1966).
Sources:
- "St. John's, New Liskeard, Consecrated", The Algoma Missionary News 36, no.3 (1941): 60. Part of 2009-081/002(004)
- "St. John's Rectory, New Liskeard", The Algoma Missionary News 36, no.4 (1941-1942): 80. Part of 2009-081/002(004)
- "Built New Rectory At New Liskeard", The Algoma Anglican 11, no. 7 (1967): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_004_007.
- "75 Years' Work Celebrated at New Liskeard", The Algoma Anglican 12, no. 11 (1968): 1. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_004_022.
- "St. John's, New Liskeard Celebrates 75 Years of Progress", The Algoma Anglican 13, no. 1 (1969): 1. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_005_001
- "St. John's, New Liskeard, to reopen after renovations", The Algoma Anglican 26, no. 9 (1981): 8. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_012
- “St. John the Evangelist, New Liskeard: Sixtieth Anniversary 1893-1953), 1953, Diocesan Heritage Centre History files collections, Algoma University Archives, 2013-078_007_002
