ST. PAUL - Bishop Stephen London of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton presided over a deconsecration service of St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in St. Paul last Wednesday.
Described as a “little church with a big heart,” the service was an emotional one for the small group of 12 gathered within its walls for the last time.
“We don’t always understand why there is a to and a fro, why there is a growth and why there is a diminishment. There is only one thing ultimately that is eternal, and it is God, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit – the holy trinity who created all things and has called us to this moment to be together and to celebrate together and to know that this beautiful parish of St. John the Baptist had its season,” Bishop London said.
“People loved here, and prayed here, and sang here and worshipped together. Nothing that we are doing today diminishes or takes away any of that because that is what people of God here in St. Paul were called to do and to be.”
The deconsecration of the church became necessary as congregation numbers dwindled over the years and regular services were no longer being held. Today’s Anglican worshippers from both the St. Paul and Bonnyville area travel to St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Cold Lake for Sunday services presided over by Rev. Donna Gauthier.
The church was moved to St. Paul in August 1959 from the Rife district in the MD of Bonnyville when local Anglicans needed a building in which to worship
Rev. Christopher Cook, who spent some time in St. Paul and is now the rector of All Saints’ Anglican Church in Drayton Valley, compiled a history of the church telling of how it was built in 1936 on land donated by the Destrube family in the Rife area. Through the ensuing years the church served congregation members on that site from Bonnyville, St. Paul, Therien, Flat Lake, Glendon, Hoselaw and Gurneyville until 1947, when changes in demographics and lack of clergy closed the church.
The first service in St. Paul was conducted by Rev. Clenneth of Frog Lake in October 1959.
“Thirty people, among them friends and former parishioners, packed the church, which seats 20 in its pews, on Oct. 17 for a service of rededication with lunch served by the members of the congregation held in the basement hall following the service,” the Bishop said in reading from the history.
One by one, those present for the final service shared some of their memories of their little church, what it meant to them, and how it brought them together in times of joy and in sorrow.
“This church has some wonderful memories for me,” Rev. Gauthier said, adding, “There’s something about churches like these . . . it’s more than just a memory though, it’s a feel – it’s that love, it’s everything. Your life comes about and forms in these churches in these small parishes . . . I can only describe it as the Holy Spirit being upon us, walking with us here in those wonderful times of life – the beginnings and sometimes, of course, the ending.”
Rev. Cook was overcome with emotion as he spoke of the memories he and his family have of the church and the significance it played in their lives during their time in St. Paul.
“I could not sum up my experience here in just a few short words so I will share some of the most important takeaways that I took with me in leaving St. John The Baptist,” Cook said, describing the church as having been small in numbers but “great in the love of the God that was here for many people.” He went on to say, “Every person is so precious who comes through these doors and that value I will always have with me.”
“To many of us, this building has been hallowed by cherished memories and we know that many of us will suffer a sense of loss,” Bishop London said before reading from the deed of deconsecration.
“This place heretofor a holy place and sacred to the preaching of God’s holy word and administration to his holy sacraments is hereby pronounced secular and unconsecrated.”
With the official signing of the book of record by the Bishop and reverends Gauthier and Cook, the final chapter of the little white church in St. Paul was closed.
What is to become of the building is yet unknown, although Bishop London said it will likely be sold.
