Built in 1903, the New St. Andrew's Church basks in the sun of a beautiful fall day.
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Father Pierre Potier (1708-1781), born in Blandain in present day Belgium, was the first pastor of Assumption Church, the oldest Catholic parish west of Montreal. In 1721 he entered a Jesuit college and after pronouncing his final vows in 1743, he came to Québec. A year later he was sent to Bois Blanc (Bob-lo) Island to serve the Huron mission of the Assumption. In 1748 he moved with the mission to its present day site and by 1761 he was ministering to the needs of both the Hurons and the French settlers in the area. While fulfilling his pastoral duties, Potier continued his linguistic studies and today his notes provide the best key to the dialect spoken in New France (Québec) in the mid-18th century.
The church's cross has recently been removed because of decay to the structure. The ravages of time will require some 9 million dollars to bring the entire church back to its original stature. Work is currently underway to save the church.
Tags: Assumption Church Windsor Ontario Father Pierre Potier
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A foggy late winter day surrounds the Bethel Church in rural Chatham-Kent. With an 1867 cornerstone, the church's 150 years of history is oddly, nowhere to be found.
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The Pioneer Memorial United Church building is over 120 years old. It houses a simple, bright, well-maintained sanctuary, as well as an additional meeting hall and small kitchen. The sanctuary will seat a maximum of 100 people. The meeting room will accommodate 80 people.
In 1867, the Reverend Robert Norton Hill, came to Muskoka to seek land for himself, his four sons and two daughters. He located 700 acres of good clay/loam soil on the shores of Peninsula Lake, east of Huntsville on what is now highway 60. He blazed a Trail called Hill’s Trace (now Highway 60) and as the first pioneer in the district he opened a Post Office in 1878 called “Hillside”, which later became the name of the community.
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Christ Church was built in 1837 in an aesthetic style known as Picturesque. Although the building reflects that sense of order, symmetry and balance that were the hallmarks of 18th century classicism, the pointed Gothic window arches and decorative trim on the tower add a Romantic touch to the building.
The land for the church and the financial support for its construction were given to the Church of England congregation of Moulinette by Adam Dixson, a wealthy, local miller. The first service conducted in the church, before it was actually completed, was for his wife's funeral, and within a year, his own funeral service had also taken place.
When visiting the church, visitors can see plain wooden box pews, which, in the early days, were rented by the parishioners. The rear pews and those in the back gallery, were free. The church has a fine melodeon, a reed organ built in 1862 by Samuel Warren of Montreal. There is no cross in the church and no candles on the altar; such things were unacceptable to this congregation in the 1860s.
Like so many other community institutions, the church was a meeting place for families, particularly for young people seeking a partner. People were baptised, married and buried all in one location, and the church witnessed the joys and sorrows of life's important events. In earlier, pioneer times, a strong religious faith helped settlers cope with the harsh realities of life in a new land and continued to do so in the decade before Confederation.
Tags: Upper Canada Village Morrisburg Ontario Ontario Christ Church 1837
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