St. John's Anglican Church Halifax NS

Parish of St. John's Anglican Church

We believe that we, as a community, are called to witness to the presence of God in our lives using the example of Jesus’ selfless love for humanity as the model for our life together. God the Spirit inspires us to seek and serve all persons loving our neighbours as ourselves. As such, we see the parish to be a diverse, open, and welcoming community of faith for all who desire to further their relationship with Christ or deepen their spiritual journey.

What should you expect of us? We strive to fashion our life as a community so to offer:

literate preaching that invites you to think, a church that will walk with you in your questioning rather than tell you the answers it thinks you need to hear, a liberal view of scripture; in other words, the acknowledgement that people and traditions shaped the Bible and the truth of scripture is conveyed by knowing both the content and context of the Bible, a congregation and church community that cares about you and your family, opportunities to be involved in many aspects of parish life including worship, administration, community activities, and outreach, a church that invites diversity and does not judge you by what you are or who you love, consistent and contemporary liturgy that is grounded in centuries of tradition but open to modern expression; liturgy that has a particular focus towards music and, liturgy that through its form and consistent nature allows for personal freedom to enter into deeper communal prayer, the heritage of a Christian denomination that extends through centuries of history, and Christian education and formation opportunities for all stages of faith journeys for those of early childhood to life-long learners.

 

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Download Rector Rev'd Randy D. Townsend vCard

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http://www.stjohnshalifax.ca  

 

 

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Ministries:

Operations

Executive Plus
Administrative Volunteers
Offertory Counters
Cemetery
Real Assets
Events
Food Ministry
Regional Council Delegates
Operational Review Task Group

Spiritual

Sunday School
Messy Church
Adult Christian Education

Pastoral

Pastoral
Home Communion Administrators
Pastoral Visitors
Prayer Teams
Friendly Transportation
Friends of Bayers-Westwood Food Bank
Friends of St. George’s Saturday Kitchen
Mothers’ Union

Worship

Worship Choir
Orchestra
Servers
Eucharistic Ministers
Lectors
Prayer Leaders
Media Booth Operators
Sides Persons
Welcoming Teams  

 

On June 12 1839 the first service of the mission of St. John's Anglican Church was held at the three-mile house near the Bedford Basin. Sunday evening services were established at the schoolhouse near the three-mile house until November of 1840. On May 1 1841 it was proposed that a church building be erected. On June 22 1841, land for the original church and cemetery was donated by St. Paul's Church. St. John's Chapel was built through the dedicated efforts of the Reverend William Uniacke who was part of a sub-committee formed on June 29 1841 to oversee the property and building of the new church. On July 28 1841, the dimensions of the church (44' X 28') were established and six tenders were accepted for consideration. On September 8 1841, the church's frame was built in Dartmouth and subsequently was floated up the basin for placement on the site. The building of the church was completed in a mere six weeks after the frame was raised. On November 27 1841, the accounts were accepted and the keys received.

The chapel was located in what is now St. John's Cemetery. A cairn has been placed to mark the position of the altar in its original location. Many founders of Halifax rest near this site including Sir Charles Tupper who was one of the Fathers of Confederation.

The first Annual General Meeting was conducted on March 29 1842 (Easter Tuesday). The consecration of the chapel took place on July 11 1844 and was presided over by the Right Reverend John Inglis third Bishop of Nova Scotia.

Originally a chapel of St. George's Parish, St. John's Anglican Church later had associations with St. Mark's and St. James' Churches before becoming a separate parish of the diocese in 1919.

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Birch Cove, was a daughter church of the parish and the Parish of St. Margaret of Scotland Church, and much later the new bounds for the Parish of Trinity Church, were carved out of the parish boundaries of St. John's Anglican Church.

The decision to change the site occupied by the first St. John's Anglican Church to it's second location resulted from the area's population growth and a generous provision of property donated by the late Mr. Henry Deal. This second parish complex was constructed at the intersection of Dutch Village Road with Bayers Road and Joseph Howe Avenue.

The cornerstone of the second St. John's Anglican Church was laid in December of 1959. The building was designed by Keith L. Graham and Associates of Halifax and was built by MacDougall Construction Company Limited of New Glasgow. The church was constructed of steel and masonry with glass panels. A striking architectural feature of the day was the interior breath of the sanctuary as well as the height of three crosses near the main entrance.

The "Opening and Service of Dedication" for the second St. John's Anglican Church was held on Friday, February 26 1960. The second St. John's Anglican Church building was consecrated on April 25 1973.

A service of Celebration and Thanksgiving was held in the second church complex presided over by the Right Reverend Fred Hiltz, fourteenth Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, on Sunday, March 25 2007, at which the sentences of consecration were revoked. The property was sold and the complex was demolished to make way for a new commercial development.

The parishioners moved on to temporary locations in the Clayton Park West area including a long period using the J.A. Snow Memorial Chapel within the facilities of Snow's Funeral Home. It took several years to seek out suitable property and several months to construct the new church complex. The new building was designed by architect Foster MacKenzie and constructed by Jetco Contracting Inc., on land purchased at 787 Kearney Lake Road (later renamed and numbered 2187 Larry Uteck Boulevard by the municipality) in the West Bedford development area. This parish journey and project was enthusiastically and carefully guided by the incumbent of the day, the Reverend Randy D. Townsend.

The parishioners rejoiced as they took possesion of the new building in December 2013 just in time to hold the first worship services during the last Sunday of Advent and then Christmas Eve of that year. The Blessing of the new church building took place on February 23 2014 with the Right Reverend Sue Moxley, fifteenth Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, presiding.