By Bryan Eneas

Saskatchewan’s oldest church still standing strong

Jul 23, 2016 | 12:00 PM

In Stanley Mission, almost all the history of the community can be traced back to one iconic structure.

Construction started on Holy Trinity Anglican Church in 1852 and was completed in 1856. Archaeologists have studied the structure quite extensively to better understand the construction techniques of the time.

A team of five people maintain the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, headed by Joe Roberts. He took the maintenance position in 1977, replacing another long-term caretaker who had held the position for 30 years. Roberts also acts as the Holy Trinity historian, having spent years learning everything he can about the building.

“This was a big attraction. At the time, religion was very prevalent in the country. Every Sunday this building would be full on a summer day, Christmas and Easter (as well),” Roberts said.

Over the years the building has seen many changes. In 1982 the church was declared a heritage site by the federal government of Canada, and it was decided the church was going to be restored, Roberts said.

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“They said we need to figure out what to do with (the building), otherwise it’s going to come down. So they came in, took all the walls off, took all the pillars because a lot of them were starting to get affected by dry rot,” Roberts said.

Recently the foundation has been renovated and the original floorboards have been restored, which provided a particularly interesting challenge according to Roberts.

“The floor boards are half logs. They’re logs that were cut in half and shaped to fit all together. The square nails you see were all made here…” Roberts said, adding, “When we started renovating we started with the floor, and we did all the pillars because they were starting to go through the roof so we had to cut them out and figure out why they were going through the roof.”

Roberts said when these renovations were done two years ago, they pulled up an old newspaper dated back to September 1852. The newspaper is currently being restored and will be returned to the community.

Stanley Mission has kept many important pieces of the church’s history within the community according to Roberts. The original stained glass windows have been sent to Regina where they were turned into new pieces of art. The new glass pieces are now on display in the Stanley Mission band office.

The church grounds is also a burial site, where the oldest gravestone dates back to 1850. According to Roberts, it’s the oldest piece of history in Stanley Mission. Everything known predates this is oral history.

The building is so symbolic that people from all over the world know and care about its existence.

“(Having a historic site like this) means a lot. Not just to our community, but to the world. Eight years ago when we had the big forest fires around here we were getting calls from England, Germany, saying someone said the church had burned down… That’s the kind of interest this church has,” Roberts said.

The church has been decommissioned from services, but the building is still used for weddings and funerals by request, according to Roberts.

The community of Stanley Mission used to be located on the island with the church, but has since relocated to the southern shores of the Churchill River. In the 19th century the church and state were far more connected, and those influences played a role in the decision to move the community, according to Roberts.

“When Indian Affairs came along and told us that we were going to be put on reserves, (Reverend McKay) was the one that said take some land here, take some land over here, make this land for gardens… He had a lot to do with where the people are situated now-a-days,” Roberts said.

While Sunday service may not take place at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, the community takes pride in the church; there are plans in the works to give the paint on the outside a refresh.

“I like to brag about the church. It’s a big source of pride for the community. Most everyone knows that when you start asking questions you’d better talk to Joe… Over the last 30 to 40 years I’ve picked up a lot of information about the church by listening to elders and the people in the community… It’s kept me going… My wife always says I should write some of that stuff down, and I said nope, what information I have is going to go with me,” he said.

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Editor’s note: This story was edited at 3:41 p.m. on July 23 to correct an error. The community of Stanley Mission has since relocated to the southern shores of the Churchill River.