St. John’s Ida: The Middle Years, 1853 – 1986

As noted in our original article last month, St. John’s Church in Ida experienced great leadership from our two pioneer ministers, Rev. Joseph Thompson (1819-1833) and Rev. Samuel Armour (1833-1853).  After their 35 years of trail-blazing courage and missionary determination,   St. John’s was blessed in 1853 by the arrival of a father and son team, Rev. Thomas Allen and Rev. William Allen.  These two men would share a remarkable ministry of 75 years, from 1853 to 1928.   During that time, three large brick churches were erected in Ida, Millbrook and Bailieboro.  Along with Trinity, the Marsh, they formed a four point parish in Cavan.  Our current church building of St. John’s was constructed in 1866 and formally opened on January 20th, 1867.   Also notable and a testament to their leadership and wonderful congregational support, all building debts were erased during their ministry.   In the midst of this growth, St. John’s welcomed the addition of a new larger chancel along with a beautiful stained glass window (the Good Shepherd) in 1904.  This was dedicated in memory of Rev. Armour by the Armour family.  Shortly after in 1919, a beautiful new pipe organ was installed by the congregation in recognition of 100 years of ministry.  Obviously a strong foundation had been laid for this community landmark, this ‘church on the hill’.

After experiencing just 4 ministers over 110 years, because of changing diocesan policies, the next 90 years saw 23 ministers with only 2 exceeding a tenure of more than 10 years.   Each, serving God in his or her own way, guided by the Holy Spirit, and supported by a prayerful, active congregation, brought us to this point in 2019.  We are currently blessed by the wonderful leadership of our present minister, Rev. Peter Mills (2008-present) and his Honorary Assistants, Rev. Bill Montgomery and Rev. Matt Kydd.

Having experienced some slowdown in growth during the period following World War II, we were part of a trend experienced by many other churches in many denominations.  However, during the last quarter of the century, we experienced a rekindling of activity and growth.  Perhaps it was due to the happy coincidence of some new families and particular new ministers, or perhaps it was new parish structuring that saw Bethany and Lifford join our church family.  Perhaps it came with the tornado of 1985.  We like to think that the Holy Spirit blew new life into our old church.  The tornado very nearly took our church but miraculously skipped over the precious items in the chancel and bell tower, while landing squarely on the roof and removing most of it.  Then it jumped across the road and flattened the old community hall (1924-1985) which had provided so much fellowship and fun over the decades.  With insurance and a strong outpouring of community and congregational support, the church was restored, and a new hall built onto its north side. (1986) The tornado seemed to provide a new beginning in the life of St. John’s.

By Phil Winslow and Ted Hodgkinson

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