Editor’s note: In 2024, two churches in the Diocese of Saskatchewan celebrated their 100th anniversary as a parish: St. John’s, Nipawin, and St. Mary’s Birch Hills.
NIPAWIN (Skwn) — The history of St. John’s goes back to 1850 with the ordination of Henry Budd to the diaconate at St. Andrew’s Church on the Red River.
He was sent north to begin work among the Native people. He made many converts in his travels including journeying to a new mission at Niepowewin — now known as Nipawin.
In 1912 George Hindel, a student of Emmanuel College, U of S, came to the Nipawin area to minister where services were held in their homes. Lay workers from the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf, an organization within the English church whose purpose is to promote the work of the Gospel in the farthest reaches of Canada, helped to establish the church.
The Rev. G. W. House arrived in Nipawin and services were held in the upstairs hall of the Lawrence Bros. Hardware Store.
The consecration of the newly purchased church property was held under a tent with Bishop George Exton Lloyd presiding. By 1928 the church and parsonage were in use.
After the Second World War, the congregation grew rapidly and a new cement-block church was built and was consecrated on Aug. 24, 1949, by Bishop Henry David Martin.
Bishop-elect Richard Reed attended the service this summer (before his installation and consecration in September) and was the guest preacher. He spoke of his favourite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It is the story of George Bailey who lives in Bedford Falls.
He enters a state of deep despair, but God sends an angel who allows him to experience what Bedford Falls and all the people connected to him would be like had George never existed.
Like the fictional life of George Bailey, the life of this parish and people, worshiping and serving Jesus here, living faithful Christian lives in the community, loving their neighbours and serving, shining the light of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, has not only made a difference that cannot be calculated over the last 100 years, but this difference has had eternal significance.
It has had a lasting impact not only in this age, but in the age to come.
Without the faithful missionary work of Rev. Henry Budd, and without the many countless others who have ministered, served and worshipped here, who gave, served, and built the church and cared for people here, who faced all sorts of adversity, were tested, and transformed into the image of Christ, across 100 years through good times and in tough times, Nipawin itself and the lives of thousands of people would be as different today as Bedford Falls without George.
What about the next five, 10, 20, 50 years? For a lot of Anglican Christians, a bit of George Bailey despair has set in.
Times are tough for a lot of our churches, and many have lost confidence and in some cases their hope for the Church and its future. We need to remember where it all began, with the steps of faith so many took from the simple beginnings in the upstairs of a hardware store to this place we worship in today.
Like all of those who came before us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we too can face the challenges in our day and continue to be the salt and light of the Gospel here in this place.
Following the service the congregation went next door to the Senior’s Hall for the Centenary Social.
There was a crowd of over 50 people who enjoyed visiting with each other, reminiscing over the display of pictures of times past.
