The Anglican Church of the Holy Saviour (Desbarats, Ont.) is part of the Anglican Parish of Bruce Mines, Thessalon and Desbarats located between Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and Iron Bridge, Ont. along the north shore of Lake Huron.
The mission in Desbarats was initially grouped with the missions of Echo Bay and Sylvan Valley. Rev. Frost from Garden River occasionally held services in the area, until the missionary Rev. Phillips came for the summer of 1907. The area was without a priest from September 1907 to May 1908, when Rev. Godfrey Watts took residence in Echo Bay. By 1914 Desbarats was listed under the Bruce Mines Mission and in 1945 Thessalon joined them.
The Anglican Church of the Holy Saviour (Desbarats, Ont.) was consecrated by the Ven. Archdeacon Gilmor on February 5, 1922. By 1922 the congregation of the church had paid off long standing debt on the building and had made substantial improvements to the interior of the church.
On July 1, 1973 the Church of the Holy Saviour on the Main Street of Desbarats opened its doors again for regular services. The church had been closed for a number of years and the interior of the building experienced some vandalism during the time it was closed. The building was cleaned and repaired by the parishioners and the people of St. George's Bruce Mines. The re-opening of the church occurred under the guidance of incumbent Rev. C. Hornett (of the Church of Redeemer, Thessalon).
After the re-opening, Bruce Mines and Desbarats shared alternate Sunday services, each congregation attending the other's church. By 1976, the Desbarats congregation was primarily made up of people from Bruce Mines. At the end of December 1976, Holy Saviour was "closed for the winter" never to re-open. Permission was obtained from Bishop Nock to close the church and dispose of the contents to other Anglican churches.
Incumbents have included: Mr. G. S. Phillips (1907), Mr. H. G. Watts (1908-1910), Rev. A. P. Banks (1908-1909), Rev. W. E. Phillips (1910-1911), Rev. S. F. Yeomans (1913-1916), Archdeacon Gillmor (1917-1919), Mr. E. B. Ellis (1919), Rev. P. B. de Lom (1920-1927), Mr. E. H. Rudge (1922), Rev. Canon A. W. Hazlehurst (1927-1928), Mr. Ed J. Smith (1928), Rev. H. Peeling (1928-1944), Rev. R. F. Webb (1945-1948), Rev. J. V. Temple (1948-1949), Rev. R. B. Wright (1949-1951), Rev. G. S. Honour (1951-1953), Rev. B. J. Cooper (1953-1960), Rev. N. Hornby (1960-1972), Rev. C. A. V. Hornett (1973-1976).
Lay Readers: E.R. Leslie Holland.
Sources:
- "Consecration of St. Saviour's, Desbarats", The Algoma Missionary News 18, no. 4 (1922): 52-53. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_012.
- "Debarats church is re-opened", The Algoma Anglican 17, no. 8 (1973): 3. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_009_008.
- "One Algoma parish extends a helping hand to another one", The Algoma Anglican 18, no. 4 (1974): 3A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_010_1974Apr_0.
- "Bruce Mines looks ahead to St. George's centennial", The Algoma Anglican 26, no. 5 (1981): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_012_1981Mar.
- "History: The Missions of Echo Bay, Desbarats, and Sylvan Valley" from Vestry Minutes and Parish Register, 1909-1970, St. George's Anglican Church (Echo Bay, Ont.) sous fonds, Algoma University Archives, part of 2009-127/001(001).
