Deaneries of the Anglican Diocese of Huron

The first Anglican worship services in Southampton and Port Elgin were held in the 1850s by Rev. Arthur Hill Ringland Mulholland. They were 2 of the 18 preaching stations where Rev Mullholland conducted regular services. Today, Southampton and Port Elgin, along with the township of Saugeen, are in the amalgamated town of Saugeen Shores (2006 pop. 11,720) located in Bruce County, Ontario on the shores of Lakes Huron.

The Southampton parish was officially founded on 20 September 1859 with the first church building opening on 24 February, 1861. That church was destroyed by fire in 1886 that wiped out a large part of the town. The present St. Paul’s Church was constructed in 1887.

St. John’s, Port Elgin has always been a two-point parish with St. Paul’s, Southampton. The building was constructed in 1886. In 1928, a parish hall was built which was replaced by a new building opened in May 1977.

Rector is the Rev. Margaret Greenhow.   Parish of Saugeen Shores website.

The County of Brant (2006 pop. 34,415) is a rural municipality that surrounds Brantford. The largest communities are Paris, St. George and Burford.

The 5 Anglican Churches in Brant are:

All Saints’ Church, Mount Pleasant is a long established parish with its first rector appointed in 1845.   Current rector is Rev. Darlene Cunliffe who is also responsible for Trinity Church, Waterford

Holy Trinity Church, St. George was established in 1954.   Rector Rev. Margaret Shortell came to St George as deacon in June 2004.

St. Mark’s Church, Scotland is in a multi-point parish in the Oxford Deanery.

Holy Trinity, Burford is in a 3-point parish with Holy Trinity, Brantford and St Paul’s, H.M. Chapel of the Mohawks

St James’, Paris, whose rector is Rev. Stephen Hendry, is the largest congregation and has 2 Sunday services.

The Municipality of Norfolk County (2006 pop. 62,563) was formed in 2001.   It is on the north shore of Lake Erie and surrounding its many small communities is some of the most fertile farmland in Ontario.

The 8 Anglican Churches in Norfolk County are:

St. Paul’s Church, Port Dover which has had Rev. Kendall Reimer as rector since September 2007.

Trinity Church, Simcoe. Rector Rev. Dr. Tim Dobbin appointed August 15, 2007 was previously Associate Priest at St. George’s, London.

The Parish of Long Point Bay consists of 4 churches: St. John’s Church, Port Rowan; Memorial Church, Port Ryerse; St. Andrews-By-the Lake, Turkey Point; and St. John’s Church, Woodhouse. It also included St. William’s Church, St. Williams which closed January 28, 2007. Rector is Rev. Tony Bouwmeester.

Trinity Church, Waterford is in a two-point parish with All Saints’ Church, Mount Pleasant in Brant.

The Church of St Alban, the Martyr, Delhi is in a two-point parish with St John’s Church, Otterville of Oxford County.

7 of the 8 churches are in the Deanery of Brant/Norfolk, St Alban’s Delhi is in the Deanery of Oxford.   The congregations in Port Stanley and Simcoe predate the formation of the Diocese of Huron in 1857.

St Clair Ontario (2006 pop. 14,649) is south of the City of Sarnia along the banks of the St. Clair River.   It encompasses the communities of Brigden, Corunna, Courtright, Mooretown, Port Lambton and Sombra Village.   St. Clair Township accommodates a mix of commerce, industrial development and agriculture.   Shell Canada has assembled in excess of 6,000 acres of industrial land south of Courtright with the intention of building a world scale petroleum refinery.

There are 3 Anglican Churches in St Clair - St Stephen’s Church, Courtright, Christ Church, Corunna and St James the Apostle, Port Lambton.

Rector of St Stephen’s is Rev. Paul Woolley.   Christ Church is in a two-point parish with St. John’s Church, Sarnia and the rector is the Rev. Canon Nick Wells.   St James the Apostle is in the Deanery of Kent in a two-point parish with St. James the Apostle, Wallaceburg.

155 Memorial Drive, Brantford, Ontario
Phone: 519-752-6451   Fax: 519-752-1432

St Mark’s Anglican, Brantford was first established in 1953 with 29 families.   The congregation moved to the current building when was it was constructed in 1965.

In 1978, Christopher Wallis was commissioned to design the stained glass windows.   The north wall has 5 windows depicting events in Jesus’ life including ‘Baptism of Christ’ shown right.   The south wall includes ‘Lamb of God’ shown left.

At present, there are over 420 families on the church roll and that number is increasing.   Rector is the Ven. Dr. Jim Sutton, Archdeacon of Brant/Norfolk & Oxford.   The Rev. Victoria Edgeworth-Pitcher is Associate for Youth and Family.

Website of St Mark’s Anglican Church, Brantford, Ontario

Sarnia, Ontario is located at the convergence of the St Clair River and Lake Huron, 100km west of London.   Sarnia is a petrochemical centre and the southern terminus of an oil pipeline from Alberta.

Construction of the current St. George’s Anglican church began in 1883, and was competed in 1884 at a cost of $19,752.57.   In 2007, a link was constructed between the main church building and the Parish Hall, thereby making the buildings accessible to all.   Within the $60,000 extension a barrier free washroom was constructed.

Rector is the Ven. Jim Dugan.   St George is one of 7 Anglican Churches in Sarnia, Ontario, along with Canon Davis, St Bartholomew’s, St James the Apostle, St John’s, Trinity and St John-in-the-Wilderness, Bright’s Grove.

Priest in Charge of St. Columba’s, Waterloo is the Rev. Dana Rodgers.   The Sunday service begins at 9:30 am.

St Columba is one of three Anglican Churches in Waterloo with others being All Saints and the Church of the Holy Saviour.   There is also St Bede’s Chapel at Renison College at the University of Waterloo.   St Columba’s was a 2 point charge with St. Aidan’s, Elmira until St. Aidan’s closed in September 2007.

New Hamburg is in Wilmot Township (2006 pop. 17,097) about 20km west of Kitchener/Waterloo.   Ayr is in the township of North Dumfries (2006 pop. 9,063) about 20km south of Kichener/Waterloo.   Both New Hamburg and Ayr are on the Nith River.

St. George’s, New Hamburg and Christ Church, Ayr, Ontario are a 2-point charge.   Jesse Dymond was ordained to the diaconate 4th of June, 2008 and appointed Deacon in Charge of the parish.

The exterior of Christ Church, Ayr has not changed since being built in 1917.   There was a major renovation in 2001 and 2002 that on the ground floor included a new kitchen, two new washrooms, Sunday School room/hall, nursery, a lift, a new stairway, two new exits and natural light from the glass blocked windows while the upper level included a room for the altar guild and an office for the priest.