HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-05-20, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Seaforth's St. Thomas Anglican Kids'
Church to celebrate 160th anniversary Cooking
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Nestled neatly into a quiet tree -
lined street near Seaforth's busi-
ness strip, along rows of aging two-
storey homes, St. Thomas Anglican
Church remains just as firmly
rooted in the community as it did
when construction concluded in
the 1860s.
The backdrop to numerous hom-
ilies, weddings and baptisms over
the years, the Jarvis Street church is
being readied to host a very special
celebration next month over a cen-
tury in the making: its 160th anni-
versary serving parishioners in the
Seaforth area.
"We've been talking a lot about
the history in service... and trying to
inform people of what we have for
our history because you forget
about our history " said Joanne
Rowcliffe, chairperson of the
church's anniversary committee.
"We have people that haven't been
to St. Thomas all their life, so it's
nice to refresh and to learn these
things."
The festivities, set to start at 2
p.m. on June 7, will include a spe-
cial sermon, refreshments, a cake
and a roast beef dinner catered by
Bon Vivant. The Blyth Festival
Orchestra is set to serve as the
musical guest.
There will also be a display made
up of photos from events hosted
over the years at the Anglican par-
ish, which maintains the support of
a dedicated core volunteer group
even with church
attendance continuing to fall - a
scenario facing many places of
worship across the nation.
Organizers are eagerly looking to
fill the pews for the anniversary
sermon and dinner, inviting every-
one - Anglican or not - to drop by
and at the very least enjoy what is
expected to be a mouth-watering
meal.
"We want to fill the church on
the day. We will not turn anybody
away - if we have to dig out chairs,
we will dig out chairs," Rowcliffe
said. "Times our tough in church,
attendance is on the decline. We
need a boost, we need to have a
good feeling."
Funds collected during the anni-
versary sermon will be used to
send local children to Huron
Church Camp in Goderich this
summer.
The cost to send a child to the
camp totals about $571, Rowcliffe
said, noting that the church covers
all but $100 of that amount.
The parish, though, covers the
entirety of the camp fee for chil-
dren who parents cannot afford to
fork over $100, she said.
"We don't keep anybody away
from going to camp," Rowcliffe
added.
St. Thomas' lengthy history in
eastern Huron County means the
church even predates Seaforth's
transformation from an unassum-
ing, windswept outpost to a thriv-
ing, railway -fuelled boomtown.
In fact, early Anglican leadership
in the area originally set its sights
on constructing a church in nearby
Marco Vigliotti/ Huron Esposito
Joanne Rowcliffe, chairperson of the church's anniversary committee, reflects
on St. Thomas Anglican Church's 160 years of history in Seaforth and eastern
Huron County.
Harpurhey, even raising funds to
purchase a plot of land in what was
then a flourishing community,
according to former Rev. James R.
Broadfoot's extensively researched
pamphlet tracing the history of St.
Thomas.
In 1854, an immigrant English
schoolmaster named William
Creswell was awarded a license
from the church's Canadian hierar-
chy to be the first priest of the area's
Anglican congregation.
Plans to extend the Buffalo,
Brantford and Goderich Railway,
however, would effectively spell the
end of Harpurhey.
The railway company bypassed
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the thriving community in favour
of the then burgeoning village of
Seaforth, which would soon out-
strip Harpurhey in population and
prominence.
Following the lead of many mer-
chants and residents, the congrega-
tion shifted its attention to Sea -
forth, with leadership in 1862
making constructing a permanent
church in the community a top
priority.
Prior to having a permanent
facility, sermons would often be
conducted at the homes of wel-
coming church members and even
occasionally at the Queens Hotel,
Rowcliffe said.
With money still scarce, a promi-
nent landowner named Edgar
Jarvis generously donated the land
that would later host St. Thomas,
with the street it rests on later
named in his honour.
In a newspaper article from
March 1877 cited in Broadfoot's
trim historical sketch the church is
described as boasting "a strange
mixture of Gothic and Greek
Architecture."
Over the years, the building has
expanded in size, with new
entrances added, colourful stained
glass windows installed and its pew
layout completely reworked.
It also survived a close brush
with destruction, when lightning
struck its bell tower in 1928, spark-
ing a fire that ravaged a section of
the church.
The rest of St. Thomas, however,
was spared.
And since then, it has ably
weathered the elements and shift-
ing religious climate to remain
firmly anchored as the heartbeat of
the Anglican community
in Seaforth.
Camp
returns
Summer is just around the cor-
ner, and so is the Kids in the
Kitchen travelling summer day
camp.
Across Huron County, six
United Churches will host the pro-
gram, which teaches children age
eight to 12 basic cooking skills
through a morning of preparing
fun -filled, healthy recipes. But
there's more to this weeklong pro-
gram than just cooking and eating:
thoughtful discussions about
where food comes from, what
"healthy" food really is, games,
stories and more. The last day will
feature a Master Chef cooking
challenge for all participants,
which will be shared with the par-
ents over lunch.
Additionally, the travelling
day camp is offering another
program for older youth, ages 10
to 15, called MasterChef: The
Ultimate Diet. More advanced
cooking skills will be introduced
and the themes and discussions
will focus on critical thinking
and exploration of current diet
trends such as Paleo and vegan -
ism. To accommodate potential
summer jobs, this program will
be held in the evening at two
church sites - one at Blyth
United and the other at Lake-
shore United, Goderich.
Both of these half-day pro-
grams ask for a $20 donation for
the week to help cover grocery
costs. Registration is advised
and participants are
encouraged to contact the
church nearest them to attend.
Kids in the Kitchen Travelling
Summer Day Camp will run in
the following churches. For
more information, call your
local United Church or Kathy
Douglas at 519-523-4380.
July 6 to 10 - Blyth United
Church, 519-523-4224
July 13 to 17 - Grand Bend
United Church, 519-238-2402
July 20 to 24 - Clinton United
Church, 519-482-9553
July 27 to 31 - St. Andrew's
United Church, Bayfield,
519-565-2854
August 4 to 7 - Brucefield Com-
munity United Church,
519-233-7225
August 10 to 14 - Lakeshore
United Church, Goderich,
519-524-2103