Bruce Fowler

I was born in 1958 and was baptized in this church. My parents had been coming here for quite a while. My mother sang in the choir for a long time, but she doesn’t now. She will be 90 years old soon. My father still sings in the choir though. He’s about 85 or so and still drives his own car.

I just really like it here. The people are nice. I like our minister Linda and I enjoy her sermons. I hope she’ll still be doing them when we move! And the music in this church is great.

I used to bring my old girlfriend here with me. She liked coming here. She died about 9 years ago. I will show you a picture of her sometime.

I am on the ushering team and I do readings during the services. Sometimes I read the Minute for Mission.


St John’s is going to be very different when the changes happen. I think they will tear down this church and build a new one. I hope the congregation still comes. I hope the music never changes and the sermons will still be good.

I like the bells in the tower. I’m not sure what is going to happen to them. I would like them to be saved because I love hearing them. You like them too, don’t you?

Doris Sweet

When the old 2 churches (Park Street Presbyterian and St John’s Presbyterian) joined, my grandparents were two of the first members of St John’s United. Their names were Lillian and Grant Sweet. They had been going to Park Street Church.

I was born into St John’s United, and baptized here. My family lived on Duncan Street. I was the oldest of five children. On Sunday mornings, my mother would get us all ready and my father took us to church. He used to walk so fast, and we’d all be trailing behind him! I remember my youngest brother Hadley would be tearing around behind trying to keep up with the rest of us. We would each get five cents for our Sunday school collection.

We all liked Sunday school. I can remember sitting in a circle with other children in little chairs down in the big room in the basement. We’d get little cards with a short verse from the bible on them. We’d put on little concerts and plays.



The church was always so crowded then, upstairs and downstairs. During the war when I was a teenager, there were always a lot of servicemen in the church.

I was in CGIT (Canadian Girls in Training) and I really loved it. We played basketball, made crafts and things, and we’d have a devotional prayer at the end of our meetings. Our uniform was a white blouse with a navy stripe around the collar and a tie that came down underneath it, and a navy skirt. We went to summer camp in Hubbards. That’s where I learned to swim! I was at camp during the 2nd World war when there were those huge explosions in Dartmouth. We could actually feel and hear those explosions all the way out in Hubbards.

I remember Reverend J.D. MacLeod very well. He visited us often. One day he came to our house when my mother was washing the kitchen floor. She jumped up to greet him, and she was so embarrassed because of the house. Then my brother Grant came into the kitchen and said “Mom, can I have a drink of beer?” You see, in those days we had ginger ale, but we called it ginger beer. Well my mother was so embarrassed about that, she almost fell through the floor! Then my little brother Hadley came running in and sat down right on Reverend MacLeod’s hat and squished it! My poor mother. I was the only one who didn’t embarrass her that day. I was just sitting at the piano practicing and not getting into any trouble!




At one time my whole family and all my father’s sisters went to St John’s. Now I’m the only one that still comes here. I was a nurse, and for years I had to work on Sundays, so I didn’t come to church as often as I would have liked. I really love St John’s. I’ve attended services in other churches but I always came back to this church. I have a wonderful feeling whenever I’m here. I love our organist- he is just full of music. It’s like his whole body is filled with music! The warmth of the church is special. Some other churches have a cold feeling about them. When I’m in St John’s, I have a feeling that something or someone is there looking over me. It is a warmth that is hard for me to describe.

Our church has changed a lot over the years. The world has changed so much and not as many people go to church now. Many people are not taking their children to church. My nephew has never taken his children to church and I feel bad about that. I remember Sunday school being fun and it was exciting to listen to the minister. Now-a-days, people want to get married in a church and have their children baptized there, but other than that, they don’t want to go. It’s a shame.

There are big changes in store for our church. I know that the bricks used to build that church were from the time of the Halifax Explosion, and now they are very old and crumbling. I know the furnace is very old. It’s just hard to think about St John’s changing in such a big way because I’ve always gone there.

Doris Steeves

I was born into St John’s/St Stephen’s Presbyterian (also known as the Knox) Church in St John, New Brunswick. That was my family’s church. I was also christened there, but I won’t tell you what year that was!

I started attending services at St John’s United in 1939. Even in those days, St John’s was known as being a church for all people. I think what attracted me here was the great ministers. I remember Dr. Crowdis, Reverend J.D. MacLeod and Reverend Leadbeater. During the war years you couldn’t get a seat in St John’s on a Sunday morning. The place was packed. The balcony would be absolutely filled, and that’s a big balcony! We’d come early so we knew we’d have a place to sit. There were always excellent speakers, sometimes professors from the Atlantic School of Theology, and always great music. I have so many fond memories of the music in this church. I was on the Halifax Board of Community Concerts for many years and I just love music. We’ve always had top-notch organists and soloists here; the best in the city!


I was in church the day they burnt the mortgage and we were free of debt; what a wonderful day that was. I remember those bondsmen, in particular Mr. Arthur Cox. What great workers they were. I can remember many of the old families of St John’s: the Rockwells, the McCraes, the Coverts, Stoddarts, Bradleys, Rozees, O’Briens, Rosboroughs, Drysdales…

Our daughter Cheryl always loved to come to church. She was in the children’s choir when Ross MacLean was organist and she thought he was wonderful. At one service, she and a young fellow named Laurie Borne dressed up as a bride and groom in honor of Reverend McLeod’s wedding anniversary, which was that day. Cheryl also enjoyed Reverend Leadbeater, and felt that he had a great influence on her life. She asked him to perform her marriage ceremony, which he did.

Jenny Kerr and I taught Mission Band for a while. Nobody knows what that is anymore! Mission Band was a children’s group. We would have the kids come here after school once a month and we’d have different activities for them: crafts and things like that.

I also taught Sunday school for quite a few years. Now, today they have a Sunday school curriculum, but in those days there wasn’t any! You were totally on your own as far as what you taught them. Every Sunday morning I would have a whole class of little boys. I really loved being with them, because I had just the one daughter, so I would think “Well, this is what little boys are like!”

We were expected to teach the Catechism. The children all had their own copies of it and we’d read it aloud:

Who made you? God made you.
Who is God? God is a spirit and has not a body as we have.

And so on. Sometimes I’d read them bible stories, which they all loved.

I had so many great friends in this church. I knew Frances McLellan well; she was the first female minister at St John’s in the 1970’s, and one of the first female ministers in Canada. I had her over for dinner often. One of my best friends, Olive McLellan was treasurer of UCW for a long time. She collected money at the fundraising functions. Olive and I played bridge together; what a great bridge partner she was! Her daughter Janet McLellan Smith still goes to services here.



The people make the church. St John’s is special, but it’s not just the building. I mean, this is a beautiful building, but it’s really the people that are wonderful.


During my years at St John’s, besides teaching Sunday school and Mission Band, I served on the UCW in the Miriam Unit and Session. I became an Elder just before Neil MacDonald left in the early 1990’s. I was on the committee to bring Arlene Riches here as Interim Minister to replace Neil. I love Arlene and I’m so glad she came here. Although I did enjoy teaching Sunday school, I must say that I love being on Session the most. As an Elder I get a chance to express my opinion on how things are done in the church. I like doing the visitations; mind, you don’t always find people at home! When I visit, I ask if they have any concerns to take to the minister. You have a big responsibility as an Elder and you must attend the meetings.

How has St John’s changed over the years? I think it has become a far more liberal church and that is a good thing. I am a person who is open to new things. What should never change is our outreach work. We do marvelous outreach in this church, and we cover all the bases!

When I think back and remember all the people who have volunteered so much of their time here, I am amazed.

Ray Grant

Music is my job.


I’ve been involved with the church since my early days in Cape Breton. I was baptized at Knox United in Glace Bay and sang in the Youth Choir there. When I was in high school, I played the organ at the United Baptist Church, which was my mother’s church. After graduating from the Nova Scotia Teacher’s College in 1967, I taught school in Sydney River, Cape Breton for 2 years and I was organist at Warden United Church in New Aberdeen.

In 1969, my wife Judy and I moved to Halifax so that I could attend Dalhousie University. I graduated from the Music Department in 1972. I restarted my teaching career in the Dartmouth City Schools Music Department and was Organist/Choir Director and Sunday School Superintendent at Grace United Church, Dartmouth. Subsequent to my two year stint at Grace, I was hired as bass soloist in three Halifax churches- St Paul’s Anglican, First Baptist, and St John’s United. Ruth Lawley was the organist at St John’s at the time. After Ruth left in 1976, I was hired to fill her position and my family and I have been members of St John’s ever since.

I don’t think of myself as just the Director of Music at St. John's but also a working member of the congregation. My interest in the life of the congregation has led me to do more than to simply help create a Sunday Morning experience. Fellowship and fundraising events have played a large part of my time here. Cabarets, concerts and dinners have been a source of great pleasure as I try to foster the talent so prevalent in this church community.

Music is, of course, my main thrust and I try to be as forward thinking and "up-to-date" as I can in order to keep the interest of the people involved in our music programs. This means choosing music that challenges the choir and the congregation as well. It means leaping forward whenever I feel that the congregation is ‘stuck’ or in crisis of some kind. This attitude has helped me develop a respect within the congregation, and it is a respect that is returned. Over the years, the St John’s congregation has been really supportive of my efforts and I've had the pleasure of working with many talented people. As mentioned previously, we’ve produced concerts, cabarets, fundraising events- and the talent has always been there to do these things!



Besides my family, St John’s has been the major part of my life for the last 30 years. Working with the people of this church who have chosen music as their offering has been one of my greatest pleasures. I see young people who grew up in this church and who participated in our youth choirs and other church groups and are now back. They have come back to this church bringing their own children because they want them to have that St. John's experience. My challenge is to make sure that I provide the same positive experience that they had, should they decide to involve their children in a music experience.

I am blessed to work with so many talented singers and musicians from this congregation. St. John's has always been known for its music. Any music director would feel lucky to have the financial support which is provided for our programs. I want to keep this tradition, this reality, alive. The fact that people will come forward and participate in the choirs, the Taize Instrumental Ensemble, the Sanctuary Band and the String Ensemble tells me how important it is to make different musical options available.

I’m grateful to have been here when Neil MacDonald was minister of St John’s during the 1980’s and 90’s. Neil was an inspirational leader. If our members had ideas for forwarding the work of Christ through education, social action, music or whatever, he enabled them to move forward and put their ideas into action. Neil’s philosophy was to encourage people to fulfill their own concepts of what Church life should be about. Linda Yates continues this tradition and I am continuing to be inspired.

What is special about St John’s? Our worship practice is inclusive, not pulpit centered, and it allows for interested people in the congregation to come forward and be involved in the planning and delivery of things. Our church leadership is not driven from the top. There is the empowerment from the top, but our leaders have always taken risks with the congregation, and this is rewarded because the congregation will step forward and do things. Our members take a proactive role in the delivery of worship. This is one of the many things which make our church a special place.



People had fewer distractions many years ago and the community didn’t address all the needs of the family, so more people came to church to find fulfillment for their social, as well as spiritual needs. Now the church is no longer the centre of activities. Life is more hectic and people are being pushed harder and faster. If we can provide a safe, non-threatening, inclusive and peaceful environment to which people can come to worship, meditate, consider themselves in relation to others and leave determined to celebrate the good and to do what they can to change the bad, then we are on the path Christ intended for us.

I have so many great memories from my time at St John’s. One that really stands out is being ‘roasted’ by the congregation after 25 years of service. That was so affirming for me in terms of being appreciated for what I was doing in this church. People were expressing the hope that I would continue in my role.



Even after 25 years and now 32, I am still fired up by the church. I know this church must move on, move forward and incorporate new ideas, more forms of musical expression in the worship. We must continue to involve the people who are here and to excite those who may come our way.

I am saddened when I see the generation that I was introduced to when I came here gradually become less involved because of age or marginalization. Some of them have this misplaced feeling that they have done their part and it’s time to let someone else do it. We should not allow our wise elders to step aside. There are older people in our congregation who are dynamic and maintain open minds! Celebrate them, value them and involve them.

There is no contract time limit on our jobs as Christians! There is always something we can do.

Margaret Smith

I was not born into this church. I started attending services at St John’s United when I was about 18 years old. It was in the 1940’s. My family lived on Duncan Street and St John’s was close by. During the war years, my mother, brother and I always went to ‘The Friendly Hour’ at St John’s on Sunday nights after the 7pm service. It was mostly for the young servicemen. We would have a sing-song, and afterwards the ladies provided tea and homemade goodies. I think the servicemen came for the goodies more than anything else! Some of our girls from St John’s met their future husbands at these sing-songs, and ended up marrying them and moving to other parts of Canada.

I always enjoyed the services at St John’s. When I first started coming, J. D. McLeod was the minister, but he soon left to become a chaplain with the Armed Forces. We had Reverend Doug Macintosh for awhile, and then A.A. McLeod came. At that time we had an organist named Sadie. Reverend A.A. took a fancy to her, and they ended up getting married.

I have so many fond memories of life in this church that I wouldn’t know where to start! My husband Murray and I were married at St John’s by Reverend R.W. Braine in December of 1951. Our children Brian and Heather were baptized here and became members.

Over the past sixty years I have served on the Stewardship Development, Worship and Music and Christian Development Committees, the Pastoral Care Team, UCW, Sunday School, Official Board, and I was the Clerk of Session twice. When I realized that I’d been through the whole gamut, I knew it was time to stop!

Of all the church groups I’ve been involved in, my favourite was Sunday School. I taught for many years and was Superintendent for a while as well. We used to have so many children enrolled that we had classes for each grade and usually had separate girls and boys classes. While the main church service took place, we held our own children’s service in the hall, complete with hymns- we had our own ‘Mrs Music’, Mildred Covert, to play the piano. Then the children went to their classes, and we got back together at the end for another prayer and a hymn. Often the main service would be over before ours, and the parents would wait at the back of the hall until we were finished.

St John’s certainly has changed since then. There used to be a lot more families living in the church neighbourhood. In the 1970’s, people started heading out to the suburbs. They would often still come to St John’s to attend services, but fewer and fewer children would be registered for our activity programs. When I first came, there were CGIT, Messenger and Explorer groups meeting at St John’s. These have all disappeared over the years.

In the past, the UCW (The United Church Women) has contributed enormously to the finances at St John’s. We formed our UCW in 1963, and at one point we had 125 members serving in 8 units: Esther, Gilchrist, Lydia, Miriam, Mary Todd, Ruth, Service and Sunshine. We were big fundraisers--we had our Spring and Fall Teas which included crafts, rummage and bale sales. Today there are about 24 members remaining. We don’t have the numbers to raise money and contribute to the church like we did in the old days.

I remember at one time when the St John’s Clerk of Session was appointed, it was for an indefinite period! Don Morrison was Clerk of Session for 25 years with Ron Caldwell serving as his assistant from the 1950’s right into the 70’s!

There were many changes when Reverend Neil MacDonald became our minister. The morning service time was set back a half hour to 10:30am instead of 11am. This was started in the summer so people could leave church earlier in the day to enjoy the summer weather. Neil wanted to keep the new service time, and people were so unhappy with this change! Some thought they would never be able to make it to church at 10:30 in the morning! After a while, they just got used to it. Before Neil came, there were no lay readers during the service, or families carrying the bible to the altar, or children’s sermons, or Coffee Hours after church. These were all new initiatives during Neil’s time.


I don’t want to see St John’s change, but my head tells me it must change because there isn’t enough financial support. I give full credit to the group that are working to bring this change about, but I not looking forward to it.

What’s special about St John’s? Well, our music program is wonderful. It is surprising when you hear how many people come to St John’s because of the great music. Credit goes to our Music Director Ray Grant, and to the members of our choirs. I’ve been to other churches where all the hymns were dreadfully long and sounded so tragic!

What else is special about St John’s? The people! They are welcoming and friendly. A smile goes a long way, and there are a lot of smiles at St John’s United Church. I used to go to UCW conference meetings around the Maritimes, and I’ve been to some churches that were not welcoming at all. No one would make an effort to come up and say hello unless they knew you. Go into St John’s about 10 minutes before the service starts and just listen to the chatter and the friendly conversation! In some churches, you wouldn’t hear any more than a whisper!