Fonds F005 - St. Stephen's Anglican Church (Thamesville, Ont.)

St. Stephen’s Anglican Church at 143 London Road, in Thamesville, Ontario, was built in 1871. When the town of Thamesville was surveyed, land was set aside for a church in lot 12, 13, Block N, and on November 7, 1864, an “Indenture of Bargain and Sale” was made between David Sherman, of the village of Tecumseh, town of Camden, Co. Of Kent, Province of Upper Canada, and the Church Society of the Diocese of Huron. The one-fifth acre was sold for one dollar. It was the first brick church erected in Thamesville. When the church was built, Thamesville was a mission of Bothwell, and constituted a parish along with Moraviantown. Rev. W. Davis began his incumbency of St. Stephen’s in 1881 and a rectory was built near the church.

The stained class Chancel window featuring Christ knocking on the door was placed by the congregation in memory of Rev. Captain R.J. Kain, (incumbent from 1916-1918) after he enlisted for service in World War 1. Rev. Kain died on October 17, 1918, from the Spanish Flu.

In April 1948 a new Sunday School was built connecting to the church vestry and thanks to a legacy left by William Wadells of Chicago, the parish hall was completed in 1949. Another legacy from Charles Watts allowed for the purchase of a lot at the corner of Wallace and Mary streets. The new Rectory was finished in 1959 and cost $16,000. The W.H.T Mooney Estate in turn paid off the Rectory mortgage, and interest on this legacy was used to support the Sunday School. Between the 1960s and 1980s minor building improvements included a complete rewiring, the replacement of floor joists, new roof shingles and new floor tile. The roof was replaced in 2001 and an interior revitalization project was completed in 2004.

In 2002, St. Stephen’s was amalgamated into a six-point parish known as “Parish of the Greater Thamesville region” along with Church of the Advent, Ridgetown, Church of the Redeemer, Highgate, Christ Church, Dresden, St. Matthew’s, Florence, and St. John-in-the-Woods, Aughrim. In May 2002, the name of this six-point parish was changed to “The Anglican Parish of the Transfiguration”.

At the Diocesan Council meeting on October 19, 2019, a motion was passed to disestablish the church effective December 31, 2019, and the building was sold. St Stephen's last regular worship service was Sunday, December 29, 2019. A Service of Thanksgiving and Deconsecration of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, Thamesville, was held on the 27th of November 2022.

List of Clergy of St. Stephen’s, Thamesville 1871 – 2022

Rev. R Deacon 1871-1881

Rev. W. Davis 1881-1884

Rev. R. Fletcher 1884-1888

Rev. Wm. Hinde 1889-1892

Rev. R. Bray 1893-1896

Rev. G.F. Sherwood 1897-1900

Rev. M.G. Freeman 1901-1905

Rev. T.E. Burgess 1906-1911

Rev. C.K. Masters 1912-1913

Rev. J. Tully 1914-1916

Rev. R.J. Kain 1916-1918

Rev. J.H. Whealen 1918-1919

Rev. M.A. Hunt 1919-1929

Rev. L.W. Diehl 1930-1935

Rev. Jack James 1935-1940

Rev. E.O. Lancaster 1940-1947

Rev. C.J. Draper 1947-1951

Rev. E.H. Priest summer of 1951

Rev. Frank Baldwin 1951

Rev. W.K. Morrison 1951-1952

Rev. R.A. Murray 1953-1954

Rev. G.D. Vogan 1954-1958

Rev. W.F. Ralph 1958-1970

Rev. W.R.D. Craven 1970-1976

Rev. John Lombard 1976-1989

Rev. Sylvia Doran 1989-1994

Rev. Jack Beedle 1995-2002

Rev. Dr. Greg Gilson 2004

Rev. Michelle Collins-Wongkee (interim) 2005

Rev. Stephen Demitroff 2005-2012

Rev. Gary Parker 2013

Rev. John Maroney 2014-2018

Rev. Gary Parker 2019-closed.