Who We Are - A Brief History of The Church of St. Stephen
The parish was originally part of the parish of St. John's
Church, Weston. With the rapid growth of the district during the years 1950-1952, and with
about 90 Anglican families with 122 children in the area, it was agreed that there was a
need for a Sunday School in the neighbourhood.
On November 29th 1953, the Sunday
School held its opening meeting at the
Crang Plaza auditorium with 75 pupils
and 8 teachers. By 1954, there was
major growth in the Sunday School.
This resulted in the opening of another
Sunday School in the east section of
the parish at Roding School. |
The first meeting of St. Stephen's was held in the home of the late Celia
& Percy Watts
|
In 1956, the parish boundaries were set as
follows: on the west side by Highway 400, on the north side by Sheppard Avenue, on the
east side by Keele Street and on the south side by Highway 401.
In May 1954, Services were held in a Portable Church
In March 1954, The Rev'd. Frank Fry, of Wolfeville, N.S.
was appointed as first Rector. He arrived in May (1954) and services were held in the
portable church. By September of that year, a petition was sent to the bishop to establish
the parish of St. Stephen. Bishop Wilkinson announced the establishment of the parish in
January 1956. The cornerstone was laid in May of that year.
In November of that year, the new building was dedicated by
Bishop Wilkinson. On October 4th 1987, the Church was consecrated.
Since the late 1970's and early ‘80's, the
demographics of our worshipping community has changed significantly. Reflecting the wider
community, our membership is comprised as follows:
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Barbados
Canada
England
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
Hungary
Jamaica |
Nigeria
Scotland
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The Congo
Trinidad and Tobago
Zambia
Zimbabwe |
