They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 31
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On Sunday, January 21 St. John's enjoyed a "visit" from The Rev. Adam Elliot, the first Anglican Pastor and Missionary to Bowmanvlle. He was portrayed by The Rev. Christopher Greaves, St. John's present-day Incumbent. The text of the introduction and message is provided below.
A
VISIT FROM THE REV. ADAM ELLIOTT 1802-1878, first Anglican pastor,
missionary
to the Six Nations and the people of Bowmanville, 1832-1835
to the Six Nations and the people of Bowmanville, 1832-1835
Introduction by St. John’s Honorary
Assistant, the Rev. Phelan
Scanlon: In honour of the 175th anniversary of the first Anglican service of worship held in Bowmanville, we will welcome several guest preachers to St. John’s. Today we welcome a very special guest to St. John’s. Not only is he the first guest preacher of our 175th year but he was also the first Anglican priest ever to lead a worship service in Bowmanville. With apologies for some of the artistic license necessary to create such a scenario, although much of what will be said is, in fact, based on his own diary entries and Episcopal reports, and, as unlikely as it might seem, here with us for the first time in a long, long time, is the very same Anglican priest who led that first worship service on Advent Sunday, December 2nd, 1832, all the way from Grand River, Ontario where he died in 1878, please join me in welcoming, the Reverend Adam Elliott.
The Rev. Mr. Elliott steps into the pulpit: Let us pray.
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of our hearts, be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
“For by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”
First Corinthians 12: 13, 14
The Reverend Sir, Honourable Churchwardens, members of the Parish of St. John’s, Bowmanville, guests and friends, it is with great joy that I speak to you today as you recall the first Anglican worship service held in Bowmanville in 1832. As the presiding clergyman that cold December morning and even colder evening, I can tell you that your building here is grandly magnificent and much warmer compared to where we congregated that Advent Sunday so many years ago.
I was grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Lister here in the village in those days for their great hospitality and civility while I stayed in Darlington Township, of which the village of Bowmanville was the centre of commerce. Mr. Lister and his son, Seth, cared for my horse, Beulah, was her name, as well as for me. It was a short but cold ride on horseback from Concession Street to King Street where Maynard’s Hall stood. There were no road signs in those days and the roads were little better than trails. My circuit on horseback included Wilmot’s house of worship at the border between Clarke and Darlington Townships, which I understand now you combined to call Clarkington, I mean, Clarington. My horse Beulah and I covered many hundreds of miles together, in good weather and bad, fur cap, mitts and great coat keeping me warm. My tea kettle and metal mug and spoon would clank along on one side of the saddlebag with my bible and prayer book counter-balancing the other.
That first year of St. John’s, 1832, was a terrible year for the spread of the disease cholera. Cholera in London, England claimed over 6,000 victims and in France over 100,000. There were outbreaks of Cholera in Quebec as ships arrived from the United Kingdom and there were deaths in Ontario with little we could do. There was understandable fright when someone would begin to cough at the Hall or need to use the lavatory outside time and again. And so we prayed mightily for healing and hope.
When I arrived at Maynard’s Hall to conduct divine worship that December day and night, there was a numerous and
attentive
congregation, not unlike today. However, I am noticing that among you,
there are few, if any, of the Six Nations Indians who were part of my
congregation that first morning in 1832. As the scripture says we are
all baptized into one body, no matter our colour of skin, or our name
or country of origin. I see by your many plaques on the walls, the
placement of the bible and altar, the stained glass depictions of our
Lord’s life and the design of your building that scripture, tradition
and reason are all foundational to the Christian faith as we Anglicans
understand it. I commend thee for such godly environs. My text for Dec. 2, 1832, from the Book of Common Prayer for Advent Sunday, was taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 13, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
While the record shows I conducted divine worship here in the village of Bowmanville at Maynard’s Hall on King Street west on Advent Sunday, 1832, on that same high street, there were no less than 16 taverns, inns and hotels. While you might not think that is remarkable, 16 liquor-selling establishments, was the same number as there were mills, grinding the grain. I came under a heavy burden for the souls of those caught in a web of madness that alcohol and other demon substances inflict on otherwise good, God-fearing men, and the odd woman too, though, often, the fairer sex, have a greater sense of responsibility.
The foul liquor destroyed and destroys. I have seen its effect among the native population and those of English, Irish and Scotch descent as well. The Loyalists emigrating from America brought the same scourge. For some, they do not drink the drink themselves but seem to have no trouble selling it to make a profit off their neighbours. Making a living in Upper Canada, Newcastle District, Durham County, Darlington Township, was not easy, I am all too aware. The family compact in York, Toronto, lived in privilege, while farmers and merchants in the outlying areas struggled to make ends meet. In my time here in the 1830’s, discontent grew in the farms, villages and towns prior to citizens revolt of 1837 and them receiving more representational government in the 1840’s. The Church of England was in a privileged position and yet I felt compelled to speak in favour of those who were unjustly treated.
With so many taverns serving so many thirsty men, it was little wonder I preached on the evils of alcohol drunk excessively. One customer described the locally produced liquor as little better than ‘day-old potatoes, hemlock, and pumpkins making black, mouldy rye.’ Whisky advertised as ‘old’ had been sitting for only a month. A foul, yet addictive substance, I understand your society is not free of the illness. Make no provision for it, St. Paul admonishes then and now. Do not put yourself near it. Get away. Run! Flee! Let not your mind be fooled by even one sip of the whiskey, one snort, or one puff. The street on which St. John’s sits is well named, Temperance.
The body and blood of Christ, however, are full of hope. Full of the freedom God alone can bring. Freedom to live without guilt, remorse, worry or regret; free to worship the only One who can truly satisfy and who leaves you with no ailments to the head or stomach. The body and blood of Christ fill his church with the same soaring wings of the saints. I remember preaching that day that the men of the fledgling Anglican congregation would put on the Lord Jesus Christ daily, as we put on our garments daily. Put on Christ and live! I proclaimed.
I observe in Bowmanville today there fewer taverns and inns on King Street, but I suspect just as many places to procure substances that are the devil’s own devices. We must stand together as the body of Christ to put on the armour of light. One question: Have you all drunk of the same Spirit of Christ? The same Spirit who called St. Paul, who called me from my home in England to travel far and wide in Upper Canada, to bring the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Have you drunk of that Spirit?
The evening congregation at Maynard’s Hall was even more numerous and the singing was excellent. We sang that brand new hymn, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ written by Reginald Heber, a fellow missionary, he labouring in Japan and I here in the colony of Upper Canada and that other new hymn, ‘When morning gilds the sky’ translated by Edward Caswall, from the German text. Did you not sing that new song this morning? “When morning gilds the skies, my heart, awakening cries: “May Jesus Christ be praised!” Someone had an accordion and played the piece that day. It was a glorious meeting!
You have a large and impressive building here, on the site Charles Bowman sold to the church just a few years after I left. While I visited Bowmanville several times from 1832 to 1835, sufficient funds were subscribed from the congregation to pay the expense of erecting the first church structure, but little had been done on account of some disagreement respecting the site among persons composing the committee and the inhabitant. Ah, churches and disagreements! Bless the day that a body of believers can agree together, live in harmony, even agree to disagree and see the broader view, the higher calling, so that, as the scripture says, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
So what do you know about me, the Rev. Adam Elliott?
I was born in 1802 in England.
I was a student of then archdeacon of York, the Rev. John Strachan, who from 1839 to 1867, was Lord Bishop of Toronto.
I was sent by the Bishop of Quebec, as our diocese was then known, as a missionary to the Six Nations Indians and to the settlers of Newcastle district, Durham County, Darlington and Clarke Townships in the province of Upper Canada, what you now call Ontario. I sent reports to the diocese, reports which still exist and which I consulted to rekindle my memory this morning. To think I carried all the requisite papers with me on horse back all those years, papers for baptism, marriage, communion, funerals, numbers in attendance all rolled up and enclosed in a tin case and some of these papers survived till today.
I took ill at the age of 76 and died in Grand River, a ripe, good old age, and joined my ancestors and my Saviour in paradise. What more could I ask?
And to think, I am remembered all these years later as the pioneer Anglican clergyman in the Parish of Darlington called St. John’s. I thank thee. I thank thee deeply for your kind remembrance, a worthy beginning, based on the good people of Bowmanville who gave me a hearing.
Thou art truly blessed to live in a time and place such as this. I cannot help but wonder how much has changed and how much remains unchanged. The need is great. The gospel of Jesus Christ is greater still.
Live the good news. Teach, baptize, disciple, admonish, proclaim, reach many with acts of kindness and thou wilt win a hearing and God’s kingdom will advance.
I leave thee now in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
And now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit be ascribed, as is most justly due, all might, majesty, dominion and honour, from this time forth, and for evermore. Amen and amen.
