Located at 125 First Avenue in Burns Lake, St. John’s Heritage Church was the third Anglican house of worship built in the village. The first was a cabin. By the time Rev. J. H. Kerr came to town in 1923, the cabin had been replaced by the Anglican Hall, a wood-frame structure located on the site of the present church. Kerr and his wife occupied living quarters at one end of the building.
n the late 1920s, Rev. Kerr and Forestdale resident Baynard B. Keddy began campaigning for a new church. Keddy already had experience in such matters, having been instrumental in establishing a church in Forestdale in 1920. By July 12, 1928, work was well underway. Excavation for the structure’s basement was complete by mid-August, when forms and footings for the foundation were also under construction. By November 29, the building’s wood frame had already taken shape.
Measuring forty-five by twenty feet, the new (though not finished) church opened to the public on August 25, 1929. Anglican Bishop G. A. Rix, assisted by Kerr and Sweetnam, performed the consecration before a large and appreciative crowd. Damaged but not destroyed by the fire that swept through Burns Lake’s downtown core on May 11, 1931, the church remained in service for more than sixty years before being sold, along with the church manse, to the municipality. Over the last nine decades, it has seen countless christenings, weddings, and funerals; for a time, it even served as a high school classroom. Designated a municipal heritage building in 2005, the church has been refurbished and is now a multi-use space.
n the late 1920s, Rev. Kerr and Forestdale resident Baynard B. Keddy began campaigning for a new church. Keddy already had experience in such matters, having been instrumental in establishing a church in Forestdale in 1920. By July 12, 1928, work was well underway. Excavation for the structure’s basement was complete by mid-August, when forms and footings for the foundation were also under construction. By November 29, the building’s wood frame had already taken shape.
Measuring forty-five by twenty feet, the new (though not finished) church opened to the public on August 25, 1929. Anglican Bishop G. A. Rix, assisted by Kerr and Sweetnam, performed the consecration before a large and appreciative crowd. Damaged but not destroyed by the fire that swept through Burns Lake’s downtown core on May 11, 1931, the church remained in service for more than sixty years before being sold, along with the church manse, to the municipality. Over the last nine decades, it has seen countless christenings, weddings, and funerals; for a time, it even served as a high school classroom. Designated a municipal heritage building in 2005, the church has been refurbished and is now a multi-use space.
