Newfoundland history

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland is a large island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To it belongs Labrador, which lies on the eastern side of Quebec. The Province now has the name ‘Newfoundland and Labrador.’ It is the eastern most Province of Canada.

Prior to 1947, there were no assemblies in Newfoundland. In 1955 there were five, and 22 are listed for the Province at this writing.

In the 1920s, William Brennan of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and Isaac McMullen of Moncton, New Brunswick, spent a number of weeks each summer working around Carbonear, Fresh Water, and Harbour Grace. Some professions of salvation were made, but these did not establish an assembly testimony. Among the converts was Aunt Jessie Snow, a poor laboring woman, a prayer warrior, and an outstanding witness for Christ, with whom Messrs. Brennan and McMullen kept contact.

Herbert Harris came to Newfoundland in 1942 for tent meetings. Not finding a suitable place in the capital city of St. John’s, he went to Carbonear, across Conception Bay from St. John’s, and pitched the tent close to where Aunt Jessie Snow lived. Douglas Howard joined him there. Many souls were saved in those tent meetings, and soon they needed to find a building in which to hold the meetings. A Mr. Frampton, a Christian man, helped them build such a hall amid much opposition. A Sunday School was started there, with Gospel meetings. However, the local people got up a petition which forced the leading workers in this effort out of the area.

Christians from St. John’s then drove to Carbonear to keep the work going. In 1947, an assembly was finally formed, meeting at the Carbonear Gospel Hall. Opposition continued and many were afraid to join with the assembly for fear of losing their jobs. The assembly has remained small. G. Albert Ramsey and Wallace Cudmore were among those who have ministered at Carbonear.

• * * * * * *

The work of Messrs. Harris, Howard, and Ramsey also resulted in the planting of an assembly in St. John’s soon after, meeting at St. John’s Gospel Hall.

• * * * * * *

Also, in St. John’s is Faith Bible Chapel. The beginnings of the assembly can be traced to a Gospel work among children begun by Jack and Allegra McBirney, who came to Newfoundland from California in 1964. In association with the Canadian Sunday School Mission, children’s Bible Clubs, Day Camps, Sunday School, and teen activities were started. Some evening Gospel Services were held in a hall on Casey Street and a number of adults began to meet weekly. The work increased with the coming of James and Alice Campbell and Robert and Sharon Johnston in 1968. The Johnstons were commended workers from Laurel Bible Chapel in San Diego, California. Encouragement and support were provided by Marie Thomson, an assembly children’s worker from California, and by Charlottetown Bible Chapel on Prince Edward Island. Various Home Bible Studies for men and women were started and regular Sunday Services were carried on. The name by which the fellowship was initially known was The Bible Chapel.

Increasing numbers trusted the Lord and were added to the church. In the early part of 1969, a camp was purchased in Paradise; week-long camps for boys and girls and teens were held there for some years. Also, in 1969, a house on Kenmount Road was purchased and permission was given from St. John’s City Council to renovate and rebuild it for a suitable meeting place. Services at Faith Bible Chapel in St. John’s were begun in 1970. The congregation continued to grow, and many church-related activities were markedly increased. The assembly has always had an effective outreach to nearby Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Those who had been active in the early days gradually left; the McBirneys in 1970, the Campbells in 1972 and the Johnstons in 1975; but the work was carried on well by local elders, of which there are five at present. In 1980 the Campbells returned for several years. A new addition, the present main chapel, was completed in 1983. The original goals are still paramount: the preaching of the Gospel and the building up of believers.

• * * * * * *

Stanley Beasley labored along the eastern shore about 120 miles north of St. John’s. He had done evangelistic work there while in the Navy from 1942 to 1946, and when he left the Navy he returned to the area to labor. Mr. Beasley was joined by others at various times. Bob and Helen McLaren worked in the area from 1950 to 1952. James Booker from Ontario and his wife worked from 1952 to 1954. James and Betty Stahr, commended from New Jersey, joined forces with Mr. Beasley from about 1954 to 1958. Bob and Sharon Johnson came from 1966 to 1968, and Alex and Jean Stephenson, commended from Ontario, worked from 1969 to 1979. Jim and Elizabeth Paul came from Scotland to work from 1980 to 1981.

By 1955, three assemblies were functioning about 18 miles apart. They met in the Burnt Point Gospel Hall, Old Perlican Gospel Hall, and Western Bay Gospel Hall. Each hall could seat about 100 and had self-contained apartments for workers. In each village the assemblies had their own cemetery. Through giving out tons of clothing and helping in all possible ways, including suturing up people, horses, and cows, the brethren broke down much of the violence and bitterness against the Gospel.

In the 1980s, the three assemblies merged, meeting in Burnt Point and led by Andrew Pottle. The Burnt Point Gospel Hall continues today. The building in Western Bay was sold, and the building in Old Perlican was closed.

• * * * * * *

Alex and Jean Stephenson moved to Bloomfield, midway between St. John’s and Gander, in 1979. Mr. Stephenson had come the previous summer and held tent meetings from July to September, not knowing anyone in the area. Thus, began a work that resulted in the Bloomfield Gospel Hall. By 1983, nine sat down to Remember the Lord for the first time as an assembly. Only one of these, a nine year old girl, had ever witnessed the Lord’s Supper before that.

Lack of employment in the area has kept the assembly small, the young men moving away to find work. About 20 adults and youngsters are in the assembly at this time.

• * * * * * *

In about 1970, Brian Funston and Carl Payne were spreading the Gospel on Fogo Island, 18 miles off the coast from Carmanville. These men had built a portable hall in which to have meetings. G. Albert Ramsey came there in 1972 and ministered the Word, with fruit, and a year later assembly was planted at the Fogo Island Gospel Hall, which continues today.

• * * * * * *

Main Point Gospel Hall in the small town of Main Point near Gander Bay and Carmanville began in 1974, founded by George Campbell and Gaius Goff. Leadership has been shared by Alvin Blake, Robert Harbin, Herbert Harris, Ernest Harris, and Frank Simms. About 50 adults and youngsters attend Main Point Gospel Hall, which is one of the larger assemblies on the Island.

• * * * * * *

Brian and Elizabeth Funston rented a small cottage in Sandy Cove in 1976, near Sandringham and Eastport, and were instrumental in the salvation of their neighbors, Jim and Angela Matchem. G. Albert Ramsey came for Gospel meetings, with souls saved, and this led to the establishment of the Eastport Gospel Hall in 1977, which continues today.

• * * * * * *

An assembly at Corner Brook near the west shore of Newfoundland was established where Albert Joyce and George Campbell labored. It meets at the Corner Brook Gospel Hall. These brethren and others also built small halls for Gospel work in two other places near Carbonear in the east. They met with much church opposition and saw numbers in one hall dwindle from 200 in Sunday School and Gospel meetings to a handful through pressure by the established church, which controlled not only the educational system, but also the social and political life.

• * * * * * *

Cox’s Cove Gospel Hall near Corner Brook, began in 1982, the result of efforts by Jim Jarvis, Melvin Flynn, and Frank Loder. The assembly hived off from Corner Brook Gospel Hall. Since about 1987, it has been known as McIvers Gospel Hall. Jim Jarvis, Frank Loder, and Floyd Park have been the elders. About 25 adults and youngsters attend the assembly. Dale Gallagher in association with the Canadian Sunday School Mission was active in the beginning of the work at McIvers.

• * * * * * *

The boat “M.G.M.” (Missionary Gospel Messenger) stopped at the harbor town of Parsons Pond on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the early summer of 1961. Its crew consisted of Herbert Harris, George Campbell, J. Albert Joyce, Gaius Goff, T. Hilton, and Wallace Buckle. Open-air meetings and visitations by these men resulted in the formation of Parsons Pond Gospel Hall in 1961. Those in leadership in the assembly over the years include Robbert Goosney, Harvey Parsons, Oscar House, Sam Payne, and Harley Payne. Parsons Pond Gospel Hall has commended a worker to the Lord’s service. It has a weekly attendance of about 100.

• * * * * * *

While the boat “M.G.M.” was in Parsons Pond, the men were invited to visit Rocky Harbour, some 40 miles down the coast. This they did in the late summer of 1961. The boat entered the harbor with hymns playing from the loudspeaker mounted on the mast, and a crowd soon gathered on the wharf. The crew held an open-air meeting and visited afterward among the crowd. The interest shown encouraged them to stay and hold more meetings. An unused garage was found; the grease pit was floored over, the walls were painted, and benches were made for seating.

As fall came, the boat had to move on, but most of the crew stayed on in Rocky Harbour, living in a rented house. When cold weather moved in, a more suitable building for the meetings was found in the lane then called Parson’s Parlour. Interest and attendance increased, and the building was usually filled. By springtime of 1962, some 70 people had professed salvation. At the first baptism held that summer in Rocky Harbour Pond, 25 were baptized before a large crowd that had gathered.

Later that summer, construction was begun on a permanent hall called Rocky Harbour Gospel Hall, which was officially opened in October with meetings by Doug Howard and George Campbell. The assembly was formed in January 1963 with 17 in fellowship. Wallace Buckle, Cliff Nicholle, and Steve Joyce have been in active leadership over the years. Peter Mathews has been a resident worker for the assembly. The assembly conducts a monthly meeting at the Senior’s Home in Norris Point. It has an average Sunday attendance of a little over 20, with 15 in fellowship.

• * * * * * *

On the south shore of Labrador, L’anse Au Loup Gospel Hall began in 1958. Initiated by Herbert Harris, Albert Joyce, and George Campbell, the assembly is the first of five now in Labrador. The traveling preachers provided the initial leadership, but now elders have been raised up. L’anse Au Loup Gospel Hall has commended full-time workers and has about 200 adults and youngsters in attendance. The assembly holds a three-day Conference each October.

• * * * * * *

Two other assemblies are in area of L’anse au Loup, and all started at about the same time. Red Bay is about 25 miles up the coast and is the location of the Red Bay Gospel Hall. In the opposite direction is Forteau, the location of English Point Gospel Hall. These three assemblies have monthly interactions.

• * * * * * *

Charlottetown Gospel Hall in the town of Charlottetown, about 125 miles north of L’anse au Loup, and not to be confused with the capital city of Prince Edward Island, began in 1968. The assembly was started by Albert Joyce and George Campbell. Elders have been John Kippenhuck, Lewis Powell, Carl Kippenhuck, and Roy Freaul. About 25 are in the assembly. Typical transportation from the L’anse au Loup area is by plane, although boat trips can be made in the summer, and people have been known to make the trip by ski in the winter.

• * * * * * *

The Goose Bay Assembly in the town of Goose Bay about 200 miles northwest of L’anse au Loup in Labrador, was begun in the late 1980s. Wallace Buckle and Save Swan were commended workers who lived there. The New Harbour Gospel Hall was started in the late 1970s following tent work with George Campbell and Gaius Goff.

Sources

• Questionnaire Responses
• John Knox McEwen and Pioneer Work in the Maritimes, by John T. Dickson, Good News Publishers, Westchester, IL (1968)
• Sowing and Reaping in the Garden of the Gulf, G. Albert Ramsay, 1983
• Remember the Days of Old, by Betty McMullen, New Brunswick, 1999
• Letters of Interest, February 1944, p. 24; March 1944, p. 38; December 1955, p. 15