Brief History
The Parish of St James’ Fergus began in 1858 with the construction of a small church on the west side of town. The congregation had out-grown this building by the 1890s, and moved to a new location at the corner of Tower St. and St Patrick St. in 1895. This location also became unsatisfactory by the 1940s, due not least to a rail spur running right in front of the building and a chicken processing plant next door. As a result, the third and present church was built on a site donated by Mrs Abraham Groves, widow of the founder of the Fergus hospital, on a site on Queen St. abutting both the Grand River and the former municipal swimming pool. Additions since that time include a small office wing, constructed in the 1980s, and a new meeting room, narthex, and accessibility features added in 2003, along with general refurbishment of the worship space, parish hall, and mechanicals.
Who are we?
St James’ is part of the world-wide Anglican communion. We strive to be “ a loving, joyful, and Christ-centred community, serving God by serving others.” We worship in a sacramental way, meaning that Holy Communion (Eucharist) is the fundamental part of our Sunday gatherings. Communion is essentially the same word as Community. We gather together around the Communion Table to share a symbolic meal together that affirms for us that we are all part of the Body of Christ, in remembrance of Jesus’ command at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me”. All those who seek a closer relationship with God are invited to participate in this sacrament. Each of us is called not only to follow the teachings of Jesus, but to be the face of Christ to those we encounter in this time – the 21st century – and this place – Fergus. Our worship also involves praise to God, by singing hymns. It involves prayer. It involves listening to the Holy Scriptures, with a sermon that seeks to make the Scriptures that we have heard relevant to our lives today.
Our Anglican style of worship has been likened to a three-legged stool, whose legs are Tradition, Scripture, and Reason, all three of which are important. Tradition doesn’t mean just doing things the way we’ve always done them. It means our adherence to the worship style of the Early Church, especially in gathering each week for Holy Communion. We do not preach the idea of “sola scriptura” – Scripture only – because our heritage also demands the use of Reason, to try to understand how we should interpret the Scriptures and what it means to be a Christian in the context of the issues that face us today, as 21st century Canadians.
Our church is governed by a group called the “Corporation” consisting of the Rector and two lay persons called Wardens, one of whom is appointed by the Rector and the other elected by the people of the parish. This group is assisted by a group of volunteers called the Parish Council, which meets once a month. For more information and membership of the Parish Council, please click under “Groups”.
At St James, we believe strongly in promoting the unity of all Christian people. To this end, we participate actively in ecumenical events, including Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, World day of Prayer, Service of the Least Coin, and ecumenical Lenten services.
St James the Apostle
St James is the patron saint of our church. Together with his brother John, James was one of the first disciples of Jesus. James and John left their careers as fishermen to follow Jesus – a story told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. According to the book Acts of the Apostles, James was beheaded by the command of King Herod some time after the death of Jesus. A medieval legend claimed that James’ body was miraculously transported to Compostela, in Spain, where a shrine to St James was built. This became an important centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. St James is commemorated by the Church each year on July 25th, which was the date on which the present St James Church in Fergus was opened for worship back in 1948.
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