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To contact us:

Parish Office: (902) 864-3154

Email: stjohn@chebucto.ns.ca

Text Box: HISTORY In the year 1749 a barracks called Fort Sackville was established at the head of the Bedford Basin. This military installation was to provide part of the defensive works for the newly established town of Halifax. The area surrounding the fort was known as Sackville. The boundaries of the Parish were established by a council of the Nova Scotia Government on May 19 1804. The first resident priest, the Rev. Benjamin Gerrish Gray, arrived in 1807. There is some difference of opinion about the date of the erection of the first St. John’s Church. It may have been as early as 1790 or as late as 1805. Records from the old Parish Vestry Book and correspondence between the Bishop of Nova Scotia and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) give some credence to the claim that there was a church constructed around 1790. Disaster struck on November 10 1828 when the Church building was destroyed by fire but by November 24, plans were already underway to replace the structure. Although unfinished, the new building was being used for worship by the summer of 1829. Within a year the building was debt-free, and the parish requested the bishop to come and consecrate the new church. On November 28 1830 the Rt. Rev. John Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia, consecrated the present church. St. John’s is built in the Georgian style, similar to St. Paul’s in Halifax and St. John’s, Cornwallis, although much smaller than the others. In the earliest days, the parish boundaries encompassed all of what are today the communities of: Lower, Middle & Upper Sackville, Bedford, Waverly, Fall River, Birch Cove, Rockingham, Beaver Bank, and Hammonds Plains. It also included part of the present Parish of Rawdon and the Parish of Lantz going up as far as the head of Grand Lake. It was a vast area to be served by one priest and one parish church. It wasn’t long before mission churches began to be established. A church (also called St. John’s) was built at Hammonds Plains and consecrated in 1843. This building was replaced and renamed St. Nicholas in 1890. The first Church of the Good Shepherd, in Beaver Bank, was constructed in 1886. A Ladies Guild was formed in 1884. By 1890 this guild had made such progress that they were able to give a considerable sum of money to the restoration of the church. In 1891 the chancel was added, the three decker pulpit and box pews were removed. The doors from the pews now form the panelling around the chancel. On October 22 1912, while the Rev. G.M. Ambrose was rector, Bedford, Waverly and Windsor Junction were removed from the Parish of Sackville and erected as a separate parish. The Rev. Arthur Tyers served the parish from 1919-1945. This was the longest incumbancy in the history of the parish. The stability of such a long term ministry allowed the parish to grow on several fronts. During this period the community began to change from rural to suburban. Rev. Tyers is one of the two former rectors who are buried in St. John’s cemetery, very close to another faithful priest, the Rev. William Ellis. Suburban development in Sackville in the late 1960's and 70's led to tremendous growth in the membership of the parish. When the church was built, Sackville consisted of 13 pioneer farmsteads, by 1968 the official population was 8,000, today our community is home to more than 60,000 people. Concerns about the parish’s ability to cope with the growth led the diocese to create the new parish of St. Francis by the Lakes in Lower Sackville in 1975. In 1978 St. John’s congregation built a new Parish Hall to accommodate a growing Sunday School and provide facilities for parish and community groups. It was also felt that the growth in the congregation would eventually necessitate a new church building. Despite the difficulties over the years in funding ministry in Sackville. The parishioners have always taken great pride in the little white church on the hill. One of the most recent additions has been a series of stained glass windows that have been given by parishioners and as memorials over the past ten years. On May 3 1998 the church building was designated as a “Municipal Heritage Site”. The most recent restructuring of the parish occurred on January 1 2000 when St. John’s, St. Nicholas Church in Hammonds Plains and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beaver Bank all became independent parishes. This latest change has prepared the people of St. John’s to better minister to a congregation and a community that continues to grow. Today St. John’s congregation has over 300 families. We have an active: Sunday School, Nursery, Youth Group, Server’s Guild, Mother’s Union, Men’s Fellowship Group, Two Choirs and an Altar Guild. We joke about ‘meeting to eat’, but fellowship is an important part of our life whether it is at a fund-raiser, at an adult study group or around the Lord’s Table. We are building on a history of worship and service as we continue to minister in a new millennium of Christian witness.