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Rossport Union Church
Restoration Initiative
In the Village of Rossport, Ontario, a historical church building dating back to 1901 requires restoration. This site, which includes a graveyard of early settlers, is a community treasure in need of support.
A local group of Rossport residents is forming a not-for-profit corporation to manage the restoration and future operations of the church. The vision is to maintain the church for non-denominational worship and community events such as concerts, art exhibitions and weddings.
To establish this corporation, there are legal, organizational, and financial matters that need to be dealt with. The group is seeking financial support to cover these initial legal costs. Any excess funds will contribute to ongoing operations and repairs.
Your contribution is vital for preserving Rossport’s history and ensuring the church remains a valuable community resource.
There is also a donation box located just inside the door of the church. Donations are encouraged and welcomed to help support the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the church.
Thank you for your support!
The Rossport Union Church Restoration Committee
Community Meeting
A Community Meeting will be held on January 3, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the Rossport Community Hall to discuss the current status of the Restoration Initiative and to seek members who will in turn vote to elect a Board of Directors for the new not-for-profit corporation that will be created to manage the affairs of the restored church.
History
Built in 1901 and opened as Rossport Church in 1902, this wooden structure remains virtually unaltered today.
The church is open to the public for viewing and is located at 222 Church Street, Rossport, Ontario, P0T 2R0.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church existed in the Ontario community of Schreiber, on the northernmost point of Lake Superior, from 1885 to 1921. The first Presbyterian minister to hold services in the Schreiber area was Rev. John Pringle in 1885. A theological student named Mr. Hay was the resident Presbyterian minister of the congregation. A church on Winnipeg Street in Schreiber was built in 1887. The Session was officially formed in 1912, which raised Schreiber to the status of an Augmented Charge. The congregation was self-supporting by 1914. In 1921, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church formed a Local Union with Schreiber Methodist Church to become St. Andrew's United Church.
In the 1890's, the minister serving Schreiber also conducted services at Nipigon, Rossport, Jackfish, Heron Bay, Port Caldwell, and White River.
Travelling ministers from an array of denominational groups have conducted services in the church.
In recognition of this tradition, church members officially renamed it "Rossport Union Church" in 1936.
It is one of the few remaining unaffiliated Protestant churches left in Canada and is regarded as Rossport's first "official" historical site.
A celebration of historic import occurred at the Union Church on September 12th, 1982 when Bishop Frank Nock of the Algoma Diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada made his first visit and conducted a service of Evening Prayer and Holy Baptism. As far as can be determined, his visit was the first occasion in the Church's long history that a Bishop had been in attendance. Fr. Tim Delaney, of St. John's North-of-Superior Anglican Church in Schreiber, had been conducting regular Sunday evening services throughout the summers of 1981 and 1982 at the invitation of the Church's president, Heather Jessup-McGrath and secretary Lorraine Seppala.
Received into the fellowship of the Church by Baptism were Christopher and Wayne LeDrew, sons of Jim and Lone LeDrew, of Schreiber and Andrew Badger, son of Stephen and Lynn Badger, of Terrace Bay.
The tiny, white Church was filled almost to capacity with parishioners from Rossport and guests from Schreiber and Terrace Bay. Many commented on the interior of the Church, with its highbacked pine pews and superb antique cherrywood-pump organ. When questioned, local residents were unable to pinpoint the exact date of the construction of the Church but fixed it generally between 1885 and 1900. Mrs. Seppala found and shared Sunday School registration rolls dated 1915. The names on the rolls are representative of many well-known Rossport families, indicating the continuity and long traditions of the community.
As colder weather sets in, services will have to be discontinued at the Rossport Union Church due to lack of heating facilities in the building, and the Rossport congregation are warmly welcomed into the life of the Church at St. John's.
Painting by Jim Coslett, of Thunder Bay, Ontario of the Rossport Union Church done in watercolour.
Weddings are conducted in the church with prior arrangements.
The church floor and ceiling are the original hardwood.
The working, original church "mouse proof", push pedal organ.
The church's original Holy Bible.
Information for graves located in the Rossport Union Church Cemetery can be found at: Find-A-Grave.
If you have information that you would like to have updated to a gravesite that is recorded in the Find-A-Grave system, please use the Find-A-Grave site to make a specific update request for a grave located in the graveyard.
The cemetery is registered to the Rossport Union Church Cemetery Board.
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