CENTENNIAL PROJECT

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The following are excerpts from the minutes of the 1967 Annual Meeting of the Parish of Port Hill, held on January 16th. Also from the Annual Meeting of St. James Church on January llth:

”Moved by Winston England, seconded by Mrs. Luther Ellis, that the money received through the Lenten

Coin Cards be used for the restoration of the Old

St. James Church,“ (Passed without a dissenting voive)

”Moved by Leigh ercombe, seconded by Henry Birch, that we take on the restoration of the ”Old Church” as a Centennial project." (Passed)

Old St. James is the oldest church building still standing, if not one or the oldest in Prince County. It was built in 1841 and has been in continuous use ever since. First as a place of worship and, following the erection of the present church, as

a Sunday School classroom during the summer months. Except for the spire and balccny, which were removed comparatively recently, it remains very much is it was originally. The square-end, box pews, the closed pulpit, altar and communion rail are still in- tact. The East Window, the upper part of which is stained glass of remarkable clarity and beauty, is one of the outstanding att- ractions of this vennreblc shrine. It is not only a historic land-mark, it is a tribute to the memory of those hardy, thrifty and far-seeing pioneers ”who builded better than they knew”.

A silent sentinel, it keeps vatch above the resting-place of those who once worshiped within its hallowed walls. Below its "East Window" there rests the mortal remains of a beloved Rector, the Reverend henry Harper, who for thirty years, lived and labored in the Parish of Port Hill. Shaded by trees he, himself, planted, his grive, along with those of his wife and two of his children. '5 still a hallowed spot. For one-hundred and twenty—six years,has Stood, unmoved, by the changing fashions_of life and the ravages of time, this one “Old Church” which continues to speak of eternal verities. It is for this reason that those who cherish the memory of past generations of noble men and women, the work of whose hands still remains, that the work of restoration is undertaken. May it be that we, who are privelaged to participate in this worthy enterprise, like those who have gone before, leave something behind us that those

who are yet unborn may see and profit by.

”So, when a good man dies, For years beyond our ken, The light he leaves behind him Lies on the path of mend”