St. Peter's Anglican Church on the Occasion of the 175Th Anniversary of Its Foundation
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/d'/,f - /.9,[1.7 /7-ld . '/',,,,,;,r,Jr,,y 'INSIDE! :! Gollgratulatory ',.Me~sages 2 • Historical , QvetVi¢'W 4 • St. Peter's Today 10 i~" The <::hurch ' Tomorrow 16 A supplement to the Cobourg Daily Star, June 9, 1994. MESSAGE FROM THE. .• Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada 600 Jarvis Street Toronto Onlario M4Y 2J6 (416)924-9192 Fax: (416) 924·021 l. Telex" "065-24128 Marluria, Toronto Message from tbe Primate for the Commemorative Insert in the Cobourg Star An anniversary is always a time to reflect, to celebrate, to look ahead. If it is an anniversary of a marriage, we will pull out the wedding pictures, talk about the higbs and lOWS; we will go out for dinner, or celebrate it with family and friends; and we will no doubt speak of the years to come, the goals we have set, the hopes we bave for our children. The anniversary of a parish family is not substantially different. It is an occasion to reflect:"What have we learned from the past?" It is a time to celebrate: "What is happening in our life together that brings us joy?" And it provides an opportunity to look ahead:"Where is God calling us? What dreams are we being called to realize?" From my perspective, the l75-year history of St. Peter's is one that is rich and alive.It is sometimes all too easy for a congregation to retreat from the world around it, to look inwards and hide behind a false piety that says "We are about the things of God, not the things of the world." That is a congregation that has no sense of real mission, let alone of the purposes of God.Scripture says "For God so loved the world ..." And we find that we experience life in God as much in the world as we do in the Church. St. Peter's has been alive to this truth from its earliest days. It has sponsored the development of schools, been a centre for recreation, enabled the building of retirement home bungalows on its grounds, added much to the musical life of the area, and been a home to those who served their country in the Royal Marines. The nurture and strengthening of young people has been especially close to the heart of this family. And its buildings have been open to all sorts of programmes, and all sorts of people. This is not a parish which has withdrawn from the world; it has engaged it and cared for it in the community, nation and beyond, in th" name of Christ. That gives cause for celebration, and I hope there will be a wide rejoicing in the whole community of Cobourg. But I want to add that I rejoice particularly that St. Peter's has a vision of its future. At the core of the life of the family of St. Peter's, is a statement of clear purpose: it is ..to glorifY God through prayer and praise; proclaim the gospel by word and humble service; and love 'and support one another in our daily Christian walk". Here is a community alive to God and to God's world. I am encouraged by it, and pray for its continued journey in faith. +Michael\ G,~5 Peers -~ Archbishop and Pri mate H is Excellency Ramon J9hnHnatyshyn MESSAGE FROM THE. .. Governor General of Canada I am plelilsed to extend warm greetillgl> to the clergy and parishioners of St. Peter's Anglican Church on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of its foundation. On behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate you for the important contribution made by St. 'Peter's Anglican Church to the religious and moral life of your community. In a world searching for long-lasting values, your dedication is vital to the spiritual well-being of our nation. This anniversary, along with the spirit of unity and good will that you have demonstrated, is eloquent testimony to the achievements of those inspired by faith and spiritual values. May those who follow in your footsteps enjoy the same kind of success that you are celebrating this year. MESSAGE FROM THE ... Lieutenant Governor of Ontario As representative of Her Majesty The Queen in the Province of Ontario, it is a pleasure to congratulate the parishioners of st. Peter's Anglican Church in Cobourg on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of their congregation. The history of this congregation demonstrates the concern, caring and contribution of one group whose influence has made a significant difference to the development of the community which it serves. As the years have passed, st. Peter's Church has grown to meet the changing needs of an expanding area. Ever-mindful of the influence of the Christian faith in the lives of its adherents, it has striven successfully to keep its ministry relevant yet adaptable. (..,.•••••.~·~pr~~••··••••~·I·)~·•••2k~.~~J.·••••••.. MESSAGE FROM THE ... Mayor of Cobourg II ~~ Office of the Mayor VICtOria Hall Town of Cobourg 55 King Street West Telephone (905) 372-4301 Cobourg. Ontario FAX (905) 372·1533 K9A 2M2 It gives me very great pleasure to offer congratulations and heartfelt thanks to St. Peter's Church for its service to our community over the past 175 years. As a member of St. Peter's I also derive personal pride from my own association, and that of my family, ~i~h St. Peter's. , Over the years we have been blessed by the min~stry of hundreds of dedicated priests and lay people who have provided leadership, guidance and selfless service to help· our citizens, and many elsewhere as well, to lead meaningful lives to the glory of God. TO all members of St. Peter's I offer, on behalf of the Town Council and people of Cobourg, my hopes and prayers that the church will continue to flourish and meet the needs of our citizens and the wider world for another 175 years. Even though it will be a world very different from the one·St. Peter's has served in the past I am confident that the basic values for which the church stands, and the importance of St. Peter's to Cobourg, will remain unchanged. By Arthur Broadbridge 1818, the Bishop of Quebec, Jacob Mountain, whose jurisdiction The Church of St. Peter of Cobourg has encompassed Lower and Upper Canada, been part of the community almost since felt the growing community of Hamilton - settlement began here in the late 18th now Cobourg, - needed a permanent century. Following the American church. The Rev. William Macauley came, Revolution, around 1795, settlers began to he saw, and he conquered. The first arrive. They settled here, rather than along services of the new parish were held that the St. Lawrence, because this stretch of same year in a less than magnificent Lake Ontario shore was then little more building that served both as courthouse than a cedar swamp. Thus, it required a and gaol, on land donated by the Burnham few intrepid souls with a vision of the family and now the site of the Golden future (or perhaps a sense of sheer Plough. The settlement in 1818 was desperation) to lead the way. For some known _as Hamilton, but the obituary of years after the first arrival, people William Macauley-(1874) says it was he continued to trickle in. By 1825, there who suggested changing the name to were still no more than 100 inhabitants in Cobourg in honour of the marriage of the settlement - variously know in its early Princess Charlotte (daughter of George IV) years as Amherst, or Hardscrabble (the to Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg. The farmer's version), Buckville, Hamilton and extraneous "0" in the new name, say some finally, Cobourg. historians, crept in through ignorance of - Besides some settlers who lived on the the correct spelling (see Cobourg - Early site of the present day Cobourg, the area Days and Modern Times). north of the settlement towards Rice Lake was slowly being populated after 1795. Isolated farms and tiny villages in Upper Canada mostly lacked any religious Walter Macauley had his work cut out in organization until the Society for the those early years for, in addition to Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) began to providing services and pastoral care in sponsor travelling missionaries from fhe Cobourg itself, he regularly visited other Church of England. These missionaries communities - Carrying Place, Belleville, spent most of the year travelling by boat, Presqu'ile, Haldimand and many others - on horseback or on foot from settlement to that lacked a Church of England priest Yet, settlement, holding services, offering in spite of all the hard labour of travelling, communion, services for baptism, marriage he was determined to see a proper church and burial and generally bringing the building in Cobourg. The land for a church consolation of religion to the hard lives of was donated by John Spenser, an early settlers. They served not only Anglican; settler, who deeded a gift of four acres - but all Christian affiliates. half to be set aside for a rectory - to Robert and Walter Boswell, church wardens. The First Services in land lay not far from the shore of Lake Courthouse and Gaol Ontario, on the north side of the dirt track that then served as a main street for the As settlement in Upper Canada grew, the little community. By 1820, thanks to the labours of the travelling missionaries industry of the first parishioners and the became more arduous and inadequate. In driving leadership of Macauley, a little wOQ~n church stood on what is still the site of St.