In the early days of St. Aidan’s, the services were held in the school chapel. The first lay reader, a teacher named Arthur Sharpe, officiated from 1900 and the first clergyman, Canon H.W. Facey, came to the Mission in 1910. The cornerstone for the church was laid on August 29, 1907 by Bishop Jones. On June 16, 1918, the church was officially opened by Rev. Augustus Bagley and assisted by Rev. Facey. Master builder of this structure was Edward Fitzgerald of Red Cliff, Bonavista Bay, and it was considered one of the finest wooden churches in the entire diocese.
Over the years some major repairs and upkeep were done such as removing the original slate roof to replace with shingles, removal of the oil lamps for electrical lights and replacing the wood burning stove for an oil furnace. In the 1970’s, the original steeple was removed and replaced with a smaller one due to excessive maintenance costs. The final modification was the addition of a basement which was dug out under the building and converted into a hall for community functions.
The bell tower has been kept intact and each Sunday, you can still hear the original bell ringing calling the congregation to worship. St. Aidan’s celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007 and the congregation still feel privileged to worship in such a fine structure.
