Theme no. 5 of the exhibit "The Irish Presence in Rawdon, Yesterday and Today", held at the Centre d'interprétation multiethnique de Rawdon, Saturdays and Sundays between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. from March 2 to 30, 2025 (except on March 22).
The first Protestant churches
Since the 19th century, protestant parishes of Rawdon have been important social hubs as well as gathering places for baptisms, weddings, communions and funerals.
The Quebec Diocese of the Anglican Church, or Church of England and Ireland, was founded in 1793. The first Protestant bishop of Quebec, the Reverend Jacob Mountain, oversaw the creation of Anglican parishes in the province, including in Rawdon.
The Anglicans were the ones who performed the first sacraments in Rawdon in 1822, when Thomas Robinson and Jane Kite were baptized at home. The Irish reverend and Anglican missionary James Edmund Burton presided over the celebrations.
Rawdon’s Christ Church Parish was born, but it would be several years before a church was built there.
The Rawdon Parish of the Church of England and Ireland, in the Anglican Diocese of Montréal, began with the arrival of the Reverend James Edmund Burton in 1821.
J. E. Burton, who owned several lots in the first range, worked for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.In the 1820s, he celebrated masses and sacraments at various locations, including the farm of the Irish Eveleigh family in Range 6.
The arrival of many Irish, Scottish and English Protestant immigrants required a church adapted to their needs. The first Anglican church was built in Range 3 in 1826. It was replaced at intervals, including in 1836, by the new Anglican church in Range 5. This wooden building was used until 1857, when another church was built, this one made of stone. The Anglican Bishop of Montréal, the Reverend Francis Fulford, blessed the church in 1861. The church still stands in Rawdon, on the corner of Metcalfe Street and 3rdth Avenue.
The arrival of these immigrants led to the construction of places of worship; the first Anglican church, built in 1836, was replaced by the present stone building in 1857. Anglican services were held in the schoolhouse at the Forks from 1826, at Burton’s home and in private homes in the distant ranges over the years.
The Celtic cross and some of the Anglican church’s stained-glass windows are reminders of the Irish influence in the parish, particularly those honouring Jane Herbert, the daughter of Irish immigrants, and George Mason, Reverend and son of Jane Herbert.
Rawdon was also home to many Irish Presbyterians and Methodists. The Methodists built a chapel in 1838 that was replaced by a red-brick church in 1895, which is now home to the Russian Orthodox community. The Presbyterians at one time worshipped in the building on Church Street that was once used by the militia. It is believed to be the oldest edifice in the village.
In 1925, the Presbyterians and Methodists merged to become the United Church of Canada.
Unlike Catholics, Protestants do not recognize the authority of the Pope. They can adhere to various forms of Protestantism. This is the case in the British Isles and Ireland and also in Quebec.
In Rawdon township, not all Protestants are Anglicans. A minority are Presbyterians or Methodists. Irish Protestants are no exception.
Individuals sometimes move from one church to another during their lifetime. For example, John Jefferies, an English immigrant who was once Anglican and then Methodist was active in the creation of a Presbyterian parish in Rawdon in the 1830s. A building on Church Street was used as a place of worship from 1836. However, the Rawdon Presbyterian Church had its share of difficulties. Due to a lack of congregation, it ceased operations in the early 20thth century pioneer families.
The Wesleyan Methodists also built a chapel in Rawdon on July 21, 1838. Influential Irish families, such as those of Newton Smiley, a physician, and George Smiley, a veterinarian, contributed to the development of the Methodist Church in Rawdon.
Serving around 200 settlers, the wooden building was erected on 4thth Avenue, near Queen Street. In 1895, a red-brick church replaced the old chapel on the same site. This church still exists today, but under a different name.
Presbyterians and Methodists were becoming less numerous in Rawdon and, in 1925, were forced to merge their missions within the United Church of Canada, which was recently sold to become St. Seraphim of Sarov Church.
Since the 19th century, life has been rich in Rawdon’s Protestant parishes. Baptisms, weddings, communions and funerals have punctuated the lives of parishioners since 1822. For Protestants and Catholics alike, the parish remains the gathering place par excellence.
People attend mass, get married, take part in christenings and funerals, and organize celebrations: in short, they meet to break their isolation and make lasting memories.