Kay McPhail first attended Canon Davis Memorial Church when it was founded as a Sunday school mission effort of the Ladies Guild at St. George’s Anglican Church on Vidal in 1926.

Now Mrs. McPhail, who just celebrated her 90^th birthday, is one of a number of parishioners with long ties to the parish still alive for  the churches 85^th anniversary celebrations this year.

The church, located at Russell and Maxwell Street, will held a special anniversary service on June 5, with a guest preacher who grew up in the parish, the Rev’d Scott Forbes.  Forbes now works for International Justice Mission, an organization working to help children at risk in third world countries.

The worship service included a light luncheon afterwards, cake, balloons and historical exhibits. The parish welcomed the new Anglican Archdeacon for Lambton-Kent, the Venerable Paul Millward.            

From its humble beginnings meeting as a Sunday school for children in what was then north Sarnia in homes and for a little while in London School, Canon Davis Memorial was set up as a parish, using the old Anglican Church from Oil Springs, moved to the current site.

 It was named Canon Davis Memorial to honour the  Reverend Canon Thomas Robert Davis, who was rector of St. George’s, Sarnia from 1882-1922. Canon Davis emigrated from Ireland as a boy, and spent most of his ministry in Sarnia.

 While Anglican churches are usually named for saints, Canon Davis is one of two in Huron Diocese named after clergy. The other is Bishop Cronyn Memorial in London.

The growth of Canon Davis Memorial in the late 20’s meant the old church wasn’t sufficient for its needs, so plans were made to build a new church. The result is the current building, designed by Chester Woods, to be a Gothic structure in the English parish church style. It opened in 1931, with a mortgage of $17,500, a large sum for a church in the depression era.

The old Oil Springs church was moved a small distance to become a parish hall, until 1957 when a new parish hall was built.

The 30’s were a time of growth for the young parish. On one Sunday in 1932 attendance at Sunday school was reported at 236.

 The mortgage for the church building was finally burned in1949. The next year a new rectory was constructed next to the church, a brick two storey building with four bedrooms, for $17,000.

 Families at the church have been very generous in donating memorials, most notably the lovely stained glass windows in the nave of the church.

The current rector at Canon Davis, the Rev’d Bob Bettson, arrived from the South Parkland Parish in the Diocese of Brandon, last September. He is the 11^th cleric to serve  the parish since 1931.

 The last two rectors, the Rev’d  Canon Bill Jones (1959-86) and the Venerable Gordon Simmons ((1986-2009) cover a remarkable 50 year span in the parish’s 85 year history.