40th Anniversary, St John the Evangelist, Salmon Arm

Timeline Cards For the 40th Anniversary of the Consecration of St. John’s, Salmon Arm

1. Salmon Arm began as a farming hamlet centred on Hedgeman’s Corners (intersection of 30th St SW and TransCanada Highway.
2. 1880’s…Services were held in Christopher B. Harris’ log farmhouse when a priest would come from Enderby.
3. 1891…St. George’s, Enderby, was the centre for mission oversight (the endpoint for the paddle wheelers from Kamloops).
4. Communities served from Enderby Mission were: Grindrod, Mara, Vernon, Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Westwold, Falkland, and Armstrong.
5. 1895-1904…Regular services were held in the Orange Lodge (180 Lakeshore Dr. NE) as part of the Anglican Mission of Enderby-Armstrong.
6. 1905, May 14… At the first Annual General Meeting of the congregation, it was recorded that a property had been donated for a church by Mr. Henry Charles Fraser – the present site.
7. Mr. Richard Hobson appears to be a prime moving force to raise finances, obtain regular priestly visits, have a church building erected, and have Salmon Arm established as a separate parish. He also took services.
8. 1907, April 14…A contract for $1500 to build a church was approved. 1907, Trinity Sunday…First service in the new church was held by the Vicar of Enderby after 6 weeks of construction.
9. 1907, September 8…Bishop Dart consecrated the building in the name of St. John the Evangelist. He appointed Rev. R Hilton as the first vicar of the parish.
10. 1907, October 13… St. John’s became a self-supporting parish within the Diocese of Kootenay.
11. 1925…The Church Committee and the Women’s Auxiliary approved plans for a parish hall. It was built with additions made in 1941 and 1956.
12. 1928…St. Luke’s Church was built at North Canoe
13. 1955…Name change from “Church of England in the Dominion of Canada” to “Anglican Church of Canada”
14. 1973…Annual General Meeting of the Parish of Salmon Arm-Canoe-Sicamous set up a Parish Council.
15. 1976, February 29…St. John’s congregation approved plans for a new church.
16. 1979…Bishop Fraser Berry presided at the last service in the old church of St. John the Evangelist. It was a service of Confirmation, the Eucharist, and deconsecration of the church.
17. 1979, May 9 at 6:15 a.m. The Church of St. John the Evangelist was demolished. Services were then held in the church hall for about 7 ½ months.
18. 1979, December 16…The first service was held in the new church.
19. 1980, March 25…Bishop Fraser Berry dedicated the new church building of St. John the Evangelist, Salmon Arm, to accommodate the growing needs of the congregation.
20. 1980…The very hard-to-heat church hall was demolished.
21. 1981…The Annual General Meeting of St. Luke’s, Canoe, voted unanimously to close its building and worship at St. John’s, Salmon Arm.
22. 1981…St. Luke’s was deconsecrated in 1982 and removed in 1983. The property was sold to the District of Salmon and became the site of a fire hall. The entire proceeds of $35,000 was given to St. John’s debt retirement fund.
23. 1984…On the 77th Anniversary of the original St. John’s (1907), Bishop Fraser Berry consecrated the new church of St. John the Evangelist, Salmon Arm
24. In the Anglican Church, a church building may be ‘dedicated’ as soon as it is completed. It is not ‘consecrated’ until it can be pronounced ‘free from all legal liability for debt’.
25. Church pews…The original pews from 1907 were used until 1984 when they were replaced with those now in use.
26. 1994, July…The Brush property adjacent to the church (41 – 2nd Ave SE) was purchased from the Brush Estate for $73,000 with loans from the bank, parish funds, and parishioners (parking lot extension).
27. “The greatest benefit had to be the joy and fellowship that came from working together for the Lord” (K.A.P.) “It was a real blessing to see young children doing a workmanlike job of nailing down flooring while the elderly and frail prepared lemonade or other goodies to sustain those doing physical tasks” (K.A.P.)
28. 2019…St. John the Evangelist Church celebrated 40 years since the construction of the ‘new’ church building in 1979.
29. 2024, September 8…St. John the Evangelist Church celebrates 40 years since its consecration in 1984 on September 8.