“A spiritual home that welcomes all who come through its doors.”

St. John's Anglican Church would like to acknowledge that the land which we gather on, is the traditional territories of the First Nations peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties, particularly Treaty 6, and is protected by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

A brief history.

Prior to 1836, part of the congregation of Old St. Paul’s, Woodstock consisted of the community of Eastwood, but it was felt that there were enough families in this area to support their own place of worship. Early records indicate that the land for St. John’s Church was donated by Henry Vansittart whose home, “Eastwood Park”, was one of the centres of Oxford County’s early history.

The original building was a rough cast structure situated just a bit to the east of the present church site, and we are told that between 250 and 300 members attended church on Sunday evenings. In spite of the bad travelling conditions, these people came by ox driven carts, horse and carriage and sleighs, and some people even walked considerable distances.

The present church was originally a white frame building, however it was covered with brick in 1893. During the time of the brick construction, services were held in the Community Hall in the village. The brick church was re-opened on October 25th, 1893 with Bishop Baldwin as a special speaker. The church was heated by wood stoves and the lighting was oil lamps and candles; it was not until 1922 that electricity was added to the building.

The church was redecorated in 1936 in preparation for the Centennial Celebration. A new channel window was presented by Thomas Perry in memory of his mother and father, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Perry who were very active in the early stages of the church’s development.  The church received many gifts and memorials which helped to furnish the church interior. A new electric organ was presented to the church by Mrs. Wm. Chisholm in 1964 as well as three stained glass windows, two of which were in memory of Mr. Shelby given by his son, Carl, and the other in memory of Henry and Eliza Balls, by their family. In preparation for the 125th anniversary in 1956, the interior was again renovated with the pews arranges to form a centre aisle. The Chancel was covered with hardwood floor, a gift from Mr. S. Potter Sr. and family.

In 1958 a major step was taken, when the basement was excavated for a Parish Hall - with a great deal of volunteer help. The hall was dedicated on Nov 2, 1958. In 1977 panels with hand rails were made and placed at the steps of the chancel, by Melvin Balls. The display case was installed in 1981 with a guest book for visitors. A platform was built in 1984 by Cyril Depper to raise the Baptismal Font, and in 1986 railings were made and installed to enclose and enhance it.

The physical parts of our parish have undergone changes as we have continued to grow, and with the help of many priests and parishioners along the way, we have created a parish we can all be proud of. St. John’s now stands quietly amid the resting places of those who have gone before us, and is surrounded by a grove of trees…a fitting place to worship Almighty God and a spiritual home to welcome all who come through its doors.