The Church of the Epiphany was first started in the fall of 1953 and was part of the township of Tarentorus. Archbishop William Lockridge Wright appointed Captain Adair from Garden River to take charge of services, which were held in the Rankin Public School on Queen Street off Dacey Road. Services were held through the winter of 1953 and the spring of 1954 when the congregation requested permission from the Tarentorus Public School Board to permit the Church of the Epiphany to use the newly built Dacey School (MJ Dacey) to hold services. Approximately 3-4 families comprised the initial congregation.
In 1954-1955, the Rev. W. B. King-Edwards was appointed to take charge of the church and plans were drafted to build a church building and work began on a voluntary basis, the property having been secured from Tarentorus Township for a nominal fee by the diocese. The men of the parish were able to complete the basement enough for services to be held there. This enabled the congregation to move from Dacey School. The basement church was likely located on the corner of present day Eastern Ave. and Melville Ave. (around where the present City Bible Church is located). A man who attended Boy Scouts in the building noted that "the Anglicans never added a church on top of the basement...eventually some other congregation bought the land and basement and built a proper sanctuary on top of the basement."
In June 1960, Lay Reader Al Bestall replaced the Rev. King-Edwards and did some excellent work: he made a new entrance, repaired the roof, and painted the floor. Lay Reader Bestall stayed until August 1961 when the Rev. Henry (Harry) Morrow was given charge of St. Matthew's parish which also included the Epiphany congregation at this time. To build the congregation, Rev. Morrow launched an "Every Member Visitation Campaign" on his arrival. By December 1961 the congregation comprised 84 families and the basement, kitchen and sanctuary of the church had been completed.
In 1965 the church became part of the city of Sault Ste. Marie as the city increased in area to include the former townships of Korah and Tarentorous. By November of 1967 the real estate transactions involving the sale of the basement Church of the Epiphany property were complete. The Epiphany congregation combined with St. Matthew's before the church's closure, though it is not clear when this amalgamation occurred.
Sources:
- "Archdeaconry of Algoma Report," 1959, Journal of Proceedings of the Nineteenth Session of the Synod, Algoma University Archives, 2009-078_002_017.
- "Archdeaconry of Algoma Report," 1961, Journal of Proceedings of the Twentieth Session of the Synod, Algoma University Archives, 2009-078_002_018.
- "New Parish Builds Church Of Unique Architecture," The Algoma Anglican 5, no. 7 (1961): 4A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_002_1961JulyAugust.
- "Nine Churches Now Within Area of Algoma's See City," The Algoma Anglican 9, no. 3 (1965): 1A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_003_1965Mar.
- "Synod Executive Meeting Report," The Algoma Anglican 11, no. 10 (1967): 4A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_004_1967Nov.
- "New Liskeard Parish Priest," The Algoma Anglican 13, no. 9 (1969): 3A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_005_1969Oct.
- Information also gathered from members of the Sault Ste. Marie community.
