Lutheran and Anglican Ministries of the Bruce Peninsula



St. Andrew’s Memorial Anglican Church, Howdenvale
9 Church Lane, Howdenvale, Ontario


Early Beginnings – Christians Without a Building
     As early as 1920, Belle Ashcroft set aside time and provided space for Sunday Worship. Pauline Orchard, a waitress, often performed as a soloist. A tribute to Mrs. Ashcroft was placed in St Andrew’s, for her name appears in the earliest parish records. By 1927 regular financial records were kept. Various people served as ministers and were sometimes given accommodation in lieu of salary. From the beginning the community worshipped together regardless of denominational ties at home. The little congregation struggled through the 30’s and 40’s, with an average of 6 services per summer. Collections were taken to give to churches that were bombed during the war. By 1947, a church building was needed. A year later Mr. Harry Hoogesteger organized fund raising with all summer visitors. The Anglican Diocese of Huron was considering building a church - efforts were pooled. On the Ashcroft's land sale, (lot 12, Con 5) acreage was set aside for a church.

St. Andrew’s, Howdenvale
     With over $2,500.00 (Andrew Jamieson Fund), and local donations, a white frame church was built by Wesley Richardson and his son, Howard. Gordon Hepburn built the altar, altar cross, pulpit and prayer desk. The leaded glass windows came from St. Thomas’ Church, Walkerton. In July 1950, the Rev. E.K.. Bissell conducted the first services and introduced the Book of Common Prayer to the congregation. The first Board of Management consisted of Sydney Glazier as People’s Warden, and Treasurer, Howard Richardson as Rector's Warden and Mrs. Miller as Secretary. Mrs. Glazier, Mrs. Orchard, Miss Hunter and Mrs. Miller took responsibility for cleaning the church and altar duties.

St. Andrew’s Grows
     The congregation held entertainments to raise money. They attempted to hold services in May and June, but these were never successful. As more people became aware of the church, it continued to grow. In 1959, a small cottage for the minister was built. The next year a branch of the Women’s Auxiliary was organized by Mrs. Millman as president. The church is usually open from early June until Labour Day. For a number of years vacationing clergy, some from as far away as Latin America and Uganda stayed in the cottage and were responsible for the parish. In recent years, theology students from Huron College, University of Western Ontario, have looked after St. Andrew’s as their summer placement, under the direction of the Rector in Wiarton. The Rev Margaret (Peg) Wheeler, at first a cottager, then a permanent resident, carried out strong lay ministry in the 70’s and 80’s before being ordained a Deacon by the Anglican Bishop of Huron.

St. Andrew’s Serving Clergy and Students
1950-52 Rev. G.E.K. Bissell 1953-55 Rev. M.A. Stephens 1956 Rev. M.A. Stephens
1957 Rev. R.J. Crocker &
George Hamilton (Montreal)
1958 Rev. R. Scoon 1959 Rev. Chaplin Brooks
1960 Rev. H. Miller 1961 Rev. Keith Brett 1962 Rev. (Dr.) M. Parker
1963 Rev. Odendahl &
Rev. (Dr.) Dymond Dymond
1964 Rev. D. Gray 1965 Rev. D. Gray &
Handley R. Perkins
1966 Rev. P. Ganden 1967 Rev. Wright, W.J. Harkin & C.W. Roof 1968 Rev. D.G. Madge
1969 Rev. R. Gestwicki &
F. Tomkinson
1970 Rev. Roy Webb 1971 Rev. Roy Webb &
Allan AE Chovaz Barker
1972 Rev. R. Webb 1973 Rev. Scott, A. Gibson,
E.D. Jacques & C.E. Ladds
1974 Rev. Russell
1975 Rev. T. Handy &
Larry Reese
1976 Rev. Scott 1977 Rev. Ben Mutana
1978 Rev. R. Bennett 1979 Rev. Seagar, Tim Hill &
John Martin
STUDENTS
1980 Howard Gorle 1981 Paul Wheeler 1982 Rob Davis
1983 Steve Harnadek 1984 Kuruvilla (Sam) Thomas 1985 Wayne Taylor
1986 Donald “J” Koyle 1987 Steve Emery 1988 Sylvia Doran
1989 Robert Skelding 1990 John O’Dell 1991 Patricia Dobbs
1992 Mark Loyal & Dave Hewitt 1993 Nancy Northgrave 1994 Lynda Kealey
1995 Thelma Kudelka 1996 Gary Alcock 1997 Sue McCullough
1998 Don Alcock 1999 Christine Crawford 2000 Dwayne Bos
2001 Kendall Reimer 2002 Maggie Meyers 2003 Mairi Anderson
2004 Loretta Zimmerman 2005 Daniel Bowyer 2006 Andrea Brennan
2007 Karine Farmer 2008 Chantal Blackshaw 2009 Chris Travers
2010 Margaret Walker 2011 Michael DeKay 2012 Elise Chambers
2013 Shaun Eaton 2014 Bradley Johnson 2015 Matt Kieswetter
2016 Clare Stewart

Biography of St. Andrew – Patron St. of the Church

Feastday: November 30       Patron of Fisherman

     St. Andrew, whose feast day is November 30th, is the patron saint for fishermen. Andrew, like his brother, Simon Peter, was a fisherman. He became a disciple of the great St. John the Baptist, but when John pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” Andrew understood that Jesus was greater. At once he left John to follow the Divine Master. Jesus knew that Andrew was walking behind him, and turning back, he asked, “what do you seek?” When Andrew answered that he would like to know where Jesus lived, Our Lord replied, “Come and see.” Andrew had been only a little time with Jesus when he realized that this was truly the Messiah. From then on, he decided to follow Jesus. Andrew was thus the first disciple of Christ. Next, Andrew brought his brother Simon (St. Peter) to Jesus and Jesus received him, too, as His disciple. At first the two brothers continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good. It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Two countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron - Russia and Scotland.

The Cross of St. Andrew
     St. Andrew’s Cross resembles the letter “X” in the English alphabet and is also referred to as the “saltier” or “Crux Decussata.” According to tradition Andrew, the brother of Peter, was crucified on a cross of this shape. Andrew did not feel worthy enough to die on the same style of cross that Christ had died and requested a cross of another shape. His request was granted and he was crucified upside down on a cross which now bears his name. Rather than using nails to secure his limbs to the cross, Andrew was bound to the cross with ropes. His suffering was thus prolonged.



     St. Andrew’s Cross came into wide use during the Medieval Period and became the national cross of Scotland, since St. Andrew was the patron saint of Scotland.

Biblical References to St. Andrew

Mark 1:16-20, 29 etc, 13:3ff
John 1:35-42, 6:8ff
Matthew 4:18-20

St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Howdenvale

PHOTO BY FATHER MORLEY E. PINKNEY
The interior of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Howdenvale


Church is Wheelchair Accessible