St. John’s Fall Fair raises funds for 185-year-old window replacement

St. John’s Anglican Church in Stevensville is getting ready to replace its old hand-blown windows, and a busy fall fair this weekend helped raise the money to make it happen.

The October 18 event at the Ridgemount Road church ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering home-cooked chili, sandwiches and pies alongside vendor tables and a 50/50 draw.

Proceeds from the fair will support a major renovation to the church’s original windows, which still maintain the hand-blown glass dating back to mid-1800s. This will be the first major renovation the church has undertaken in decades, a step that members say will conserve energy and protect the building’s historic character.

The church, first built in 1840 and still containing its original wood floors, pews and a century-old pump organ, continues to surprise many in Fort Erie who pass by unaware of its presence.

Paul Collard, former town councillor and church organizer, told Fort Erie Radio attending the fair is sometimes a first introduction to the building and its surrounding cemetery, which contains graves two centuries old and the is the resting place of two Titanic survivors.

“We’ve had people come in, get something to eat or look at the craft vendors, and they’ll say, I never knew this church was here. And so part of our outreach is being able to say, now you do,” Collard said on Saturday.

This year’s vendors included local artisans offering crochet, woodcuts, painted stones and jewellery. Among them was local historian June Chipp, who has written extensively on the War of 1812, the Fenian raids and other episodes of Niagara’s past, and who brought her books to share with visitors.

A bake sale table was stocked with fruit pies baked the day before, and visitors also found raffle baskets and a 50/50 draw.

“You have to decide, are we a craft show with a bake table, or are we a bake table with a craft show? They work hand in hand, and that balance is what keeps people coming back,” said Collard.

Food has long been one of the church’s main draws. Volunteers prepared all the chili, sandwiches and desserts inside the church hall, continuing a tradition of offering meals at parish events that has become well-known throughout the community.

“Throughout the community, if you want a good meal, you want a good home-cooked meal, you come to St. John’s,” said Collard.

Collard said he hopes to see the fair continue to grow into a larger event, recalling how last year’s Fall Fair included live music outside the church to draw more people in.

“I want to see it bigger, like a festive kind of atmosphere,” he said.

The new window installations are expected to begin next week, with plans for a special dedication service involving neighbouring congregations once the work is complete.

Church members debated whether to preserve the delicate hand-blown panes or invest in replacements, and after much thought and prayer, they chose new windows that would save the building some money on their heating bill while keeping a similar appearance.

For many at the fair, the renovations signal that the nearly two-century-old church is preparing for another chapter while remaining an active part of the Stevensville community.

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