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METHODISM IN LOT 16

“For more than a hundred years the Methodist Church in Canada has been so busy making history that no one

has had the leisure to write it. ” ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND D.D., Methodism in Canada

he Methodist tradition in Lot 16 was very difficult to adequately research and cover. Several factors con- tributed to this problem:

° For the Methodists, Bideford was the center of the circuit with Lot 16 being one of the outposts.

- The Methodist Church building was lost along with many records.

° The Methodist tradition of governing relied on the decision-making of the bishop in charge. Meetings with the stewards of the outposts revolved more around the issue of finances and minutes were not extensive.

Consequently archival material and oral tradition largely allowed the piecing together of the St. James Methodist Church story.

The Methodist Circuit, which included Lot 16, was called the Egmont Circuit in the early days. The name of Egmont first appears as a circuit in 1873 with a request for “one wanted”, meaning a preacher. The Egmont Circuit was made up of nine congregations: Egmont Bay, Sheep River (Victoria West), Enmore River, Lot 11, Bideford, Union Corner, Wellington, Lot 16, and Miscouche.22 This size of circuit proved difficult and discouraging for the circuit preacher who had only a horse for transportation. Minutes of 1875 show the trustees met quarterly at Fifteen Point (Union Corner). Archival records of the preacher W E._]ohnston, who served the circuit from 1881 to 1883, state, “It is difficult to hold a full meeting for the whole circuit. I have managed as best I could. The cir- cuit is large and hard to work satisfactorily to all.” Archival material indicates the Egmont Circuit existed for a period of five years (1878) before being renamed the Bideford Methodist Circuit. It is uncertain why the name was changed or if the circuit was made smaller.

LOT 16 UNITED CHURCH AND ITS PEOPLE