New Liskeard (Ont.)

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

Northern Lights Anglican Parish (Haileybury, Ont.) is a multi-point parish along the Ontario-Quebec border around Lake Temiskaming. The parish is composed of Christ Anglican Church (Englehart, Ont.), Grace Anglican Church (South River, Ont.), St. Andrew's Anglican Church (Chamberlain, Ont.), St. Faith's Anglican Church (Charlton, Ont.), St. James' Anglican Church (Cobalt, Ont.), St. James' Anglican Church (Heaslip, Ont.), St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church (New Liskeard, Ont.), St. Luke's Anglican Church (Hanbury, Ont.), St. Paul's Anglican Church (Elk Lake, Ont.), and St. Paul's Anglican Church (Haileybury, Ont.).

In 1907 Mr. Ballard, Curate of the St. Faith’s in Tynemouth, England, was sent to this northern Algoma region to give a donation of $136.83 to Rev. John Leigh (ordained December 20, 1908). This money was to be used in the development of five small churches in the area, the mother church being Christ Anglican Church (Englehart, Ont.).

In the early years, Rev. Leigh would make a circuit of the area performing Sunday services every two weeks. He would arrive in Charlton the Saturday night, leave for Englehart the Sunday afternoon, and the next Sunday leave for Heaslip for a morning service, then a train to Thornloe for an afternoon service, and a last train back to Englehart for an evening service.

The area suffered a devastating fire on October 4, 1922. Five of the mission churches burned: St. Paul’s (Haileybury, Ont.), St. George’s (North Cobalt, Ont.), St. Luke’s (Harley Township, Ont.), St. Oswald’s (Thornloe, Ont.), and St. Faith’s (Charlton, Ont.).

The Northern Lights Parish was established officially in 1998 with five congregations: It originally consisted of five congregations: St. James’, Cobalt, St. Paul’s, Haileybury, St. John’s, New Liskeard, Christ Church, Englehart and St. Faith’s, Charlton. In 2005, St. Faith’s, Charlton, closed its doors and the congregation was invited to join the congregation of Christ Church, Englehart, which is a ten minute drive from Charlton. In 2013 the congregation of St. John’s, New Liskeard, made the decision to close its doors, while working through a parish assessment laid out by the Diocese. St. Paul’s, Haileybury, opened their arms and the invitation of a merger between the two congregations was offered. Haileybury is approximately a 10 min. drive from New Liskeard. The two congregations are now merged and the identity of both churches was voted on and accepted as The Church of St. Paul and St. John.

Northern Lights Parish has a Parish Council which consists of the Clergy and the Wardens and a member at large of each congregation.  The Council oversees all activities throughout the parish and makes decisions in temporal matters. Parish Council passes down information from the Diocese to the individual congregations, and determines the share of the expenses to be paid by each congregation

Sources:

• “The Story of St. Faith’s”, 2000, St. Faith’s Anglican Church (Charlton, Ont.) sous fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2010-197_001_001.
• "Parish Profile: Northern Lights Parish", Diocese of Algoma.