United Church of Canada. Channel Pastoral Charge

In 1851, the English Wesleyan Methodist Conference created a mission at Channel under the supervision of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. From 1816 to 1839, the area had been ministered from the Fortune Bay Mission, headquartered at Grand Bank. After 1839, it had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Western Shore Mission, headquartered at Hermitage, until becoming a mission in its own right.

At the time of the mission's formation, the Methodist congregation consisted of only five members. By 1858, however, 89 of Channel's population of 211 were Wesleyans.

The administration of the mission was organized into a structure commonly used by Methodists at the time. At a meeting of the Methodist Society in 1862, Edward George was appointed circuit steward; Brother Thomas Major replaced Brother John Evans as leader of the male class; and Sister Mary George was appointed leader of the female class. By 1871, Quarterly Board meetings were taking place.

The boundaries of missions in the general region changed frequently. For example, Channel was sometimes aligned with the St. George's area and other times with Petites and Grand Bruit. In 1857, Rev. Charles Comben was stationed on the Western Shore and spent one-third of his time at Channel. From 1866 to 1869, Channel was supplied from Petites; from 1870-1873 Petites was supplied from Channel.

Chapels, schools, and churches soon followed the formation of the mission. By 1851, Petites had a chapel and a congregation of 48. In 1862, a visiting minister at Petities reported "...a beautiful church capable of holding more than the population, a most substantial schoolhouse [with students] whom we examined and found them receiving an excellent education, a house erected for a teacher and another for a parsonage." In 1885, construction began on a new church in Channel, and it was dedicated in 1899. A Channel Circuit report in 1893 noted a church under construction at Codroy, a new school in planning at Isle aux Morts, and a school/church nearing completion at Fox Roost. In 1906, a new parsonage was built in Channel, and by 1921, a new school building was opened there.

In 1925, the mission became a pastoral charge in the United Church of Canada Newfoundland Conference. At the time of Union, the charge was called Channel-St. George's with congregations at Channel, St. George's, Boswarlos, Heatherton, and Port aux Basques. From the mid 1920s until the 1980s, Channel Pastoral Charge included the Channel congregation only. In the 1980s, Petites once again became part of the charge.

Created - May 21, 2013

• English