The Parish of Cornwallis, Celebrating 250 Years, 1760-2010

The Parish of Cornwallis will celebrate two milestones in 2010 - the 250th anniversary of Parish worship, and the 200th anniversary of the erection of the new and second St. John's Church.

Services have been held at St. John's Cornwallis continuously for 200 years and the Parish of Cornwallis has sent Delegates to the Diocesan Synod every year since 1855. The present Wardens are closely connected to the founders of Cornwallis Township and the Parish of Cornwallis.

One is a descendant of Hezekiah Cogswell, one of the original Planters from Connecticut who settled Cornwallis Township with Major Starr. From the time of their arrival, the Cogswells established themselves as one of the foremost farm families in Kings County. 

The other is related to St. John's first Warden-Colonel John Burbidge-a founding member of Cornwallis Parish. By the time St. John's Cornwallis was opened for worship in 1810, Colonel Burbidge had already served as Senior Warden of the Parish and at St. John's Fox Hill for 40 years. He died in 1812 in his 96th year and is buried at Fox Hill Cemetery. The first St. John's Church built at Fox Hill in 1770 is still in use today. It is a charming garden house on a property on Church Street west of the present Parish Hall.

A small group* has been busy for the last two preparing to publish a new history of the Parish and St. John's, Cornwallis. The impetus has been the joint anniversaries the Parish will celebrate in 2010. The upcoming history will have a wealth of new material, pictures, portraits, and a map or two, a treasure trove of stories about the Missionaries and Rectors from the early days of the Parish-and the independent Planters whose stamp on the Parish is still much in evidence today, information on prominent people who have been associated with the Parish, and the impact that the first Bishop's arrival had on parishes in Nova Scotia, including Bishop Inglis's disappointment with the state of affairs he found in Cornwallis on his first visit after his arrival.

Many significant accomplishments of the parish are included. The new history is the story of our people-all those hardworking, faithful, caring parishioners-who have dedicated themselves to strengthening the Anglican presence in Cornwallis and maintaining the legacy left by past generations as a mark of gratitude for the many blessings bestowed on the Parish over the last 250 years.

* The Parish/St. John's Cornwallis History Book Group: The Reverend David C. Garret, Advisor; Joanne Peill, Research; Colleen Mansfield, Design, Layout and Production; Elinor Murray, Author

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, will be visiting our Parish sometime in the anniversary year!

May 9th, 2010: Bishop's visit to our parish and visit of the Gospel Book: New flags for St. John's church, given by the Choir to mark our anniversary year will be dedicated by the bishop. A reception will follow the Parish service.

Jun. 20th (afternoon): church and cemetery crawl coinciding with the Planters Conference at Acadia University, Wolfville

Sun. Jul 4th: Fox Hill Service (rain date Jul. 11th. A Garden Party at Prescott House following the service is being planned.

Aug. 12th: Garden Party at St. Thomas'

Sept. 29th: St. Michael's Day - a special celebration.

Fall 2010 - a dedication of a Path through the Church lands woods to the Rectory.

Thur. Nov 11th, 2010: Dedication of a memorial to George Price and Mary Clerk Peake. Private George Price, 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion was killed by a German sniper northeast of Mons just two minutes before the Armistice on 11 November 1918, and the last Canadian to be killed in battle during WWI. He was a son of parishioners James E. and Annie R. Price. Mary Clerk Peake of Port Williams, who volunteered with the Women's Transport Service in London, was killed in1942 driving a transport in London during a blackout. She is believed to be the first Canadian service woman killed in WWII:

Sat. Dec 25th, 2010: Christmas Day - Anniversary marking 200 years of services at the present St. John's Church building.

Plans are subject to change.You can keep abreast of events as they develop on the Parish of Cornwallis website: www.parishofcornwallis.ca

This is also a special year in our Diocese. You will want to be aware of these celebratory events also.

Sun. Jun 6, 2010 - Halifax: 3 PM - A spectacular celebration event with worship will be held at the Exhibition Park stadium on the outskirts of Halifax.

Sat. Aug 7, 2010 - Kingston: 12pm-6pm Valley Regional 2010 Celebration- Kingston arena and park. A fun day for the whole family.

Sun. Oct 10, 2010 - Annapolis Royal: This service of Thanksgiving will be the main commemoration of the original service at Fort Anne in 1710.

For more information see http://www.nspeidiocese.ca/2010/ Christine Lynch and Diana Shelly - Co-Chairs, 2010 Planning Committee

Parish of Cornwallis Established 1760 St. John's, Church St. Port Williams, St. Michael's and All Angels', Canning, St. Thomas', Kingsport. The Rev. David Garrett, Rector

Phone: 902-542-7476
E-mail: secretary@parishofcornwallis.ca
website www.parishofcornwallis.ca