St John's-in-the-Woods,

Aughrim

beautiful by day, creepy by night…

7134 Aughrim Line

Organist: Heather Morwood

Churchwardens: Earl Morwood and Sandy Weatherstone (pictured)

Lay Delegate to Synod: Nancy Gadsby

Treasurer: Elaine Brennan (pictured)

Lay Reader: Earl Morwood

The descriptive above refers to St John’s alleged ghost. Wish to know more? Let the webmaster know and she’ll get Aughrim’s official version here on the page for a bit of thrilling reading. Or stop by the church any night between, say, 11 pm and 2 am, visit the church, and after you’ve picked your way back through the tombstones to your car and driven like mad to your house, email in your own story…

But on a more serious (and approved theological) note, services are held each Sunday at 9:30 am. You are most welcome to join us. See the Announcements page (link to the left, and below) for current Sunday schedules (who’s preaching) and upcoming events.

For history buffs: Aughrim’s 150^th anniversary history book, St. John’s In The Woods Anglican Church, Aughrim, 1846-1996, by Earl Morwood, is available at local libraries and for sale by the author. Phone the office to get his contact information. The following are excerpts and information from Euphemia Township History – 1849-1999, by the Euphemia Township Historical Society, ISBN 0-9685902-0-9:

The first church services were held in Hector McLaren’s barn on the same lot where the present church is located. The first Church of England clergyman in this area was Thomas Brock Fuller, stationed at Chatham from 1836. He visited Aughrim regularly until 1840 when the Rev. James Stewart took over the work. The first permanent priest at St. John’s-in-the-Woods was the Rev. John Gunne. From 1846 to 1856 he led services in different homes around Aughrim. W.A. Edwards, writing in 1936 for the 90^th anniversary of the church, notes,

Aughrim was a goodly distance from St Matthew’s at Victoria [Florence] and the road was over hill and dale, through swamps and bogs and over every difficulty imaginable. Oft times the good missionary and his horse lost their way, but few men could stand up to the Reverend John Gunne physically, or possessed his zeal for carrying the gospel to the remotest places, journeying to and fro, from log cabin to log cabin, welcoming the settlers, sharing their toils and privations, visiting the sick, nursing the solitary settler, baptizing the babies, marrying the young folks, closing the eyes of the dead and pronouncing the last sacred and solemn benediction.

The St John’s congregation built its first church, a frame structure, in 1856. Large compared to churches of its day, it was built with squared timbers and was “exceptionally warm and cosy.” In 1898 a new brick church seating 106 worshippers was constructed by Charles, Frank and Francis Clifford. A Canadian Churchman article states,

Its modest size becomes a virtue in achieving an almost domestic sense of cosiness, to which the expansive wooden ceiling makes a significant contribution. The walls were decorated with paintings, and words of praise to the Lord rested below the valance on the front wall. There were stained glass windows, silver collection plates, two handsome chairs at the front of the building, an organ and a sweet-toned bell.

The church was located in a charming rural setting beside the Sydenham River. It cost $3500 to build. The interior was refurbished in 1984. The bricks were re-pointed in 1985, and a new roof installed in 1986. The music program has flourished with a new keyboard purchased with funds from the estate of the Very Reverend Garfield Brown.

St John’s-in-the-Woods has always been a rural church and those rural values affect the way the congregation conducts its affairs. About 35 families attended services in 1856, and about 45 in the 1930s. Today 30 families contribute to its welfare.

Our parish hall is the former schoolhouse.

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