St. John the Evangelist

History

St. John the Evangelist

In 1845, Reverend Mr. Benjamin Fleet was appointed as Missionary for the South Shore.

Topsail became a separate mission in 1860 and the Reverend Mr. Charles Palairet was appointed its first incumbent.

Reverend Mr. Hutchinson, who served here from 1867-1876, resigned an English parish to work at the Battle Harbour Mission in Labrador prior to his incumbency at Topsail. He passed away on October 5, 1876 still in faithful service to the people of Topsail.

Reverend Mr. Edward Colley took over as incumbent in 1877 and remained here until 1904.

Reverend Mr. Robert Temple arrived to serve in 1905 after leaving the hardships of his northern mission for the smaller, quieter sphere of Topsail. He remained here until 1911 when he found it necessary to retire from active service and went to live in St. John's.

The next incumbent, Reverend Mr. T.G. Netten arrived in October 1911. He served here faithfully until his retirement in 1917. He died January 30, 1925 whereupon by special train, his remains were conveyed to Topsail from St. John's and were laid to rest at the scene of his last activities.

Topsail mission then saw the arrival of Reverend Mr. Arthur Pittman in November 1918.

Reverend Mr. W.A. Butler started his incumbency here in 1934 and ended it here nine years later in 1943. He passed away suddenly and the mission had to be taken over for a short time by Bishop J.A. Meaden until the appointment of Reverend Mr. Evelyn Clench in 1943.

Reverend Mr. Clench's first wife died here and then he married his former sweetheart, Agnes Earle, widow of Dr. Smith. They resided in Manuels. He left the mission in 1949 and was replaced by Reverend Mr. Joseph Goodland.

During Mr. Goodland's time here, a parsonage was built. Mr. Goodland became ill and died in 1959 while still incumbent at his mission.

Old Topsail Church

Reverend Mr. George Camp became the next incumbent to administer to the Topsail mission. He served here for the fewest number of years, just five, from 1959-1964.

The final Rector to preside over the Old Topsail Church was the Reverend Mr. Sidney M. Bradbrook who remained here until 1977, whilst the old church saw its last consecutive service in 1974. It was during Mr. Bradbrook's incumbency that the Mission of Topsail finally became a self supporting parish in 1967.

Personnel

Deacon: The Rev'd Jean Janes

Office Secretary: Madonna Scott

Address and Contact Info

Parish of St. John the Evangelist
P.O. Box 13033,
Station Topsail,
Conception Bay South, NL
A1W 2K1

709-834-2336 (office)
709-834-0236 (fax)

e-mail
sjtetopsail@nfld.net

Office Hours

Office Hours: 8 - 12, Monday - Friday

Schedule of Services

8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (BCP)
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist

During July and August Evening Prayer services are held in the Old Church at 7:00 p.m.