St. Stephen's Anglican Church (Broadbent, Ont.) is part of the single-point St. Stephen's Anglican Parish (Broadbent, Ont.).
St. Stephen's was formed in 1889, and in the spring of 1890, the catechist, Arthur J. Cobb, was hopeful for renovations to be carried out on the building. The Parry Sound Lumber Co. had donated 3, 000 feet of lumber for this purpose. The congregation was active in the early years, celebrating 1890's Dominion Day with a picnic and festivities including swinging, ball games, dancing, various sorts of races, long jump competitions, and canoe races. The picnic and festivities raised $26.50 to go towards the church's upkeep. Following this event, congregation members helped clean the cemetery and put up a picket fence. This cleanup was in anticipation of the cemetery's consecration on the Bishop's next visit.
By the fall of this year, much of the interior furniture had been replaced; the holy table donated by the wardens of Trinity Anglican Church (Parry Sound, Ont.) and the scrolled and mottoed cover sent over from England. St. Stephen's again gained a new piece of furniture in 1896: a solid oak font built by Mr. Bartlett. Improvements continued and a foundation was planned for the near future.
As with most churches in rural and hard to reach areas, activity at St. Stephen's was affected by the events of World War One and dwindled. The church continued to operate though, and by 1931 the church building had been reshingled and repainted.
In 1981, St. Stephen's gained some new small items such as hooks for the altar frontal, wooden candlesticks, prayer book stand, and a regilded altar cross. The larger improvements included a cross on the roof and a bell was mounted.
Sources:
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 1, no. 9 (1890): 5. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_003_1890May.
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 1, no. 12 (1890): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_003_1890Aug.
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 2, no. 2 (1980): 6. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_003_1890Oct.
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 8, no. 3 (1896): 8. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_004_1896Mar.
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 8, no. 5 (1896): 2. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_004_1896May.
- "Seguin and Broadbent", The Algoma Missionary News 16, no. 6 (1920): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_011_1920Jun.
- "Magnetawan", The Algoma Missionary News 27, no. 6 (1931): 6. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_002_003_1931NovDec.
- "Bearlake and Broadbent", The Algoma Anglican 26, no. 3 (1981): 3. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_012_1981Jan.