Deaneries of the Anglican Diocese of Huron

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.

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.

Watford is midway between Sarnia and London, Ontario and is the largest community in Warwick Township (2006 pop 3,945). Kerwood is 10km east of Watford in the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe (2006 pop. 3,117).

The larger congregation is at Trinity Anglican, Watford. St Paul’s, Kerwood has a congregation of about 40 families and was opened in October 1881. Rev. Tom Anderson has been rector of Trinity, Watford and St. Paul’s Anglican, Kerwood since December 2006.

The three churches that make up the Parish of North Lambton are about 40 km northwest of Sarnia, Ontario,

The first meetings of the congregation of Christ Church, Forest, Ontario were held in the newly built railway station in 1860. The present Christ Church was built in 1898. The Parish Hall formerly St. George’s Church in Hillsborough was consecrated in 1853 and later moved to Forest making it the town’s oldest structure.

The second congregation, St Paul’s Anglican, Thedford is just west of Forest in a village of under 1000.

The smallest congregation is St. John’s Anglican (Migizi Anishinabek) with a membership of about 25. It was established in 1827 in the Chippewayan community about 6 kms from Forest. The present brick structure was constructed in 1974 after a disastrous fire in their old frame church.

Last year, during the Diocese of Huron’s sesquicentennial year, rector Rev. Catherine Ascah was coordinator of the Pilgrimage of the Cross. In December 2006, from St. Paul’s Cathedral, it began its 13-month diocesan-wide journey to each parish. The Sesquicentennial Cross was an instrument for reflection and meditation, for ecumenical services, youth retreats and Anglican Church Women meetings.

Point Edward, Ontario is a village adjacent to Sarnia in southwestern Ontario. Point Edward is joined to Port Huron, Michigan by the Blue Water Bridge built over the St. Clair River in 1938 and twinned in 1997.

St Paul’s Anglican, Point Edward, Ontario has been long known as the Mariner’s Church. Many years ago, Port Dover had the largest freshwater fishing fleet in the world. Each year, on the first Sunday in March, St. Paul’s hosts the annual Fishermen’s Service. St. Paul’s Church pays tribute to those who made their living on the lake, and prayers are said for those who continue that tradition.

In 2006, Rev. Grace Coleman Anthony was appointed as the first chaplain of Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, Central and Arctic Region.

Petrolia, Ontario, "Canada’s Victorian Oil Town", is west of Sarnia. Commercial oil production in Petrolia began in 1857 and in 1880, 16 operators merged their operations to form Imperial Oil.

The original Christ Church, Petrolia was destroyed by fire in 1957. The 1909 chime of 11 bells survived the fire and were installed in the current building erected in 1958. Christ Church is in a 2-point parish with St. John’s Church, Wyoming with Rev. Nancy Adams rector since January 2007.

Archdeacon is Ven. Richard Salt of Trinity Church Sarnia. The Archdeaconery consists of the Kent and Lambton Deaneries

The regional Dean of Kent is Rev Paul Millward of Christ Church, Chatham. The largest community is the municipality of Chatham-Kent which had a 2006 population of 108,177.

The regional Dean of Lambton is Rev. Rob Lemon, rector of Lakeshore Parish (St. John-in-the-Wilderness, Bright’s Grove and Christ Church, Camlachie). The largest city is Sarnia (2006 population 71,419). Shown is St John’s Anglican, Sarnia.

Parish Website

The Lakeshore Parish consists of St John-in-the-Wilderness, Brights Grove and Christ Church, Camlachie.

St. John-in-the-Wilderness Anglican church was built in 1856. The name was chosen because at the time the surrounding area was a cedar swamp.

The community near Sarnia, Ontario was established in 1828 when a colony of sixty people from Paisley, Scotland in 1828 to built a back-settlers camp at the mouth of the Perche Creek, now the site of St. John-in-the-Wilderness church.