Home - About Us - Our Heritage Every year we celebrate our long and rich Christian heritage in a spirit of reflection, thanksgiving and praise.

Our roots stem from the early German pioneers of the Evangelical Church. Missionaries travelled on horseback through dense woodlands to visit the isolated and lonely settlers who were eager to hear about the "Light" of life. This was around the time the foundations of St. Jacobs were being laid. Several families became keenly interested in the Evangelical Movement of the Methodist-type spiritual preaching. A class was soon formed and their homes were opened for proclaiming the Word.



In 1848, a little log church was built on the site of our present cemetery and was the first church in the village. Rev. Philip Winkler, who played a very important role in establishing this church, was the first minister and Sunday School Superintendent.



As the congregation grew, the little church became inadequate and since the village had spread southward, the second church was built in 1864 on the north east corner of King and Cedar Streets. This white brick church with frosted windows served the congregation well for fifty years.





The third church, built of red brick with white Roman stone trim, was erected in 1914 on the same site and at the dedicatory service was christened "Calvary".



Today we have returned to the 1848 site beside the cemetery. Having outgrown the down town location we have built a new church. The new church project is called project roots. The congregation continues with great enthusiasm to allow the "Light" of life to be heard.