GUYSBOROUGH — Evelyne Jamieson has celebrated many milestones in her life while sitting in the pews of her beloved Christ Church, with the most recent – one more bittersweet – coming on Sunday afternoon in the historic landmark.
“It is an end of an era,” she said in a phone interview with The Journal, a couple of hours after a deconsecration service led by Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and P.E.I. Bishop Sandra Fyfe.
Jamieson’s family roots run deeply in Christ Church. She was baptized and married there; her three children received the baptismal rite as well.
She offered that the transition didn’t develop overnight, considering there has been a “small congregation for a long time.” Like many churches, of all faiths and denominations, Christ Church has faced not only the challenges of dwindling numbers, but also an aging building and increasing costs.
“It is a sign of the times,” Jamieson said, adding that the church had been “rarely used” over the past couple of decades.
She noted, in reflecting on the declining worshipper numbers, “I am probably the only one left,” explaining that many from her age group no longer live in the area, while older parishioners have passed away.
“It is a relief, in a way,” Jamieson said of the transition, describing it as a “sense of closure.”
The deconsecration service – carrying out the transition of the historic building from sacred to secular use – marked an end to an almost 200-year era. Christ Church was consecrated in 1826.
“Let us offer our thanks for God’s work through this building and those who have worshipped here,” Fyfe said during the proceeding.
During the act of deconsecration, she offered, “To many of you, this building has been hallowed by cherished memories, and we know that some will suffer a sense of loss at its deconsecration. We pray that all will be comforted by the knowledge that the presence of God is not tied to any place or building, and that the life of this community of faith endures.”
Fyfe ended the momentous service with a blessing.
A rich history
Describing Christ Church as a “cornerstone of the community,” Guysborough Historical Society President Chris Cook told The Journal that it was the first church of any denomination in what became Guysborough, which would remain the case for 25 years.
“It is sad to see it go,” he said, explaining how Christ Church and its incarnations has served and brought together people of all colours, creeds and nationalities.
Records show that the first Christ Church Anglican was built by Black Loyalists in 1790, although Historic Places Canada indicates that a Black pioneer of the community – Hannah Lining – was reported to have been baptized there in 1786. A sign on the front of the building has the same date, which could indicate the potential year of its erection.
As the Guysborough Historical Society archives indicate, a fierce gale felled the original building in 1811. One year later – in the summer of 1812 – the frame of the new church was erected, and the building consecrated on Sept. 16, 1826. As noted by the Nova Scotia Archives, the third Christ Church – widely recognized for its Gothic architecture – was built on the same spot in 1877-78, nearly 100 years after the first Christ Anglican.
Adjacent to the now deconsecrated building is Christ Church Anglican Cemetery, which serves as the resting place for an estimated more than 700 people, such as several of Guysborough’s 18th century pioneers, along with most of its founding fathers, including Thomas (King) Cutler, Colonel Joseph Marshall, Patrick Patton and Robert Hartshornes.
“Many influential people,” Cook said of the many historic “leaders” in the cemetery.
Noting the continuing growth of “historical tourism” in Guysborough, he explained that for visitors the “beginning of their journey” often begins with Christ Church and its cemetery.
“They want to walk the ground where their forefathers did,” he added.
Cook pointed out that the Guysborough Historical Society has erected panels that list the names of those who rest in the cemetery, describing that information as a “very good reference point” for those tracing their lineage.
“We have also had several items gifted to us,” which help the society “maintain and preserve its history,” chronicling its “instrumental role” in the development of what is now Guysborough, he said.
Cook added, “We do everything we can to honour, respect and work to preserve it.”
