All Saints’ Church Ridgeway Celebrates 100 Years

It started as a hole in the ground – and it celebrated its 100^th birthday in the same place.

When All Saints’ Anglican Church in Ridgeway first opened its doors in 1926, it was completely below grade. It wasn’t until 1958 that the “top” (the main floor) was added. At that point, the original space became the church hall. Appropriately, that hall was the site of the church’s centennial banquet on Saturday, May 23.

Anglicans were worshipping in Ridgeway before the Great War of 1914 to 1918, where and when they could. But the dust from that worldwide cataclysm had to settle before they could think about building their own church. It was a long and sometimes fraught process. Mrs. Ellen F. Brewster, a local Anglican land-owner, donated two building lots. She withheld her final go-ahead, however, until she was certain that a church would be built. In the meantime, the Rev. Canon Smith held services in a room at the Women’s Institute in 1924 and 1925.

Mrs. Brewster named the parish All Saints’ because she thought it better to name it after all of them than to choose just one. (Or so the story goes.) She lived long enough to attend services in the new church when her health permitted. The Right Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, Bishop of Niagara, laid the cornerstone on October 9, 1926, assisted by clergy from Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Buffalo. Mrs. Brewster’s was the first funeral held at the church, the following April.

Special guests, both political and divine, joined 70 parishioners at the centenary banquet.

Niagara South MP Fred Davies brought greetings from Ottawa, and added his praise: “For 100 years, this church has stood as a beacon of faith, fellowship and service, bringing generations together in worship and community spirit. As we celebrate this remarkable milestone, we give thanks for the past century of blessings and look forward with hope to continuing God’s work for generations to come.”

On what was her first visit to All Saints’ Ridgeway, the Right Rev. Dr. Susan Bell, Bishop of Niagara, captured the moment: “A centenary is a moment when time becomes visible.”

She paid tribute to the Rev. Dan Bennett, All Saints’ rector: “The best thing that a parish priest can do is to let people know that they are loved by God. We’re so glad that you’re here, and I’m pretty sure Jesus is glad you’re here.”

The bishop both recalled the past and anticipated the future: “All Saints’ has always said yes to Jesus. That ‘yes’ is not finished. The shape of what’s coming is already visible if you know where to look. One hundred years ago, the founders of All Saints’ Church could not have imagined you. But they built anyway, as an act of faith. Today, we are building for people we don’t know yet. Let’s not look just at how far we’ve come – let’s look at how far we can go.”