The Anglican Church of the Epiphany

2064 Chemin Ball Brook

A bit of history

In 1887 the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, James William Williams, offered the faithful of Way’s Mills and Barnston to erect two Churches through the construction of a common Presbytery. The authorities built the latter in Way’s Mills. Maggie and Arthur Cummings donated the land required for the two adjacent buildings, the Church and the Presbytery.

They entrusted the work to Ben Kezar, and the Interior finish to Henry Clifford. In memory of his wife Cora, who died in 1891, Charles Jones donated the stained-glass window adorning the East side of the Church.  

In 1889, the Reverend moved into his home, and the consecration of the Churches of Way’s Mills and Barnston took place on November 30, the Feast Day of St. Andrew (an important holiday for the British). Several pastors successively lived in the Way’s Mills Rectory until 1915 when the Anglican Congregation became affiliated with Ayer’s Cliff and Hatley, and so, the pastor resided henceforth in Hatley.

From 1915 onwards, Anglican religious services were increasingly scarce in the Church of the Epiphany. In 1989, citizens of Way’s Mills mobilized to save the Church, and in 1991, won the honours of the Fonds du patrimoine estrien (Townships Heritage Fund).


In 1998, the Corporation of the Church of the Epiphany mandated the Committee for the preservation of the Churches of Way’s Mills to negotiate grants from the Religious Heritage Foundation of the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications. The Municipality entrusted the management of the restoration works to the architect Pierre Cabana in 1998-1999.

Conscious of the deterioration of the building, citizens mobilized in 2009 to obtain through the Neil and Louise Tillotson Foundation, a grant sufficient to produce a Church health book and thus establish a restoration program. The architect, Claire Moore of Magog, received the mandate to carry out the plan which she completed in 2011. The work cost approximately $250,000.


Armed with the health book, La Fabrique (vestry of the Church of the Epiphany), with the support of the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, applied for a grant to the Conseil du Patrimoine religieux du Québec. In November 2011, the Religious Heritage Council granted $162,500 to cover, among other things, the costs of restoring the exterior cladding, installing a new metal roof, repairing windows and the front door, as well as repairs to the Bell Tower. Citizens must, therefore, commit to meeting the cost difference for the work.

Thanks to the contributions of everyone and the holding of a big party under the marquee, the symbolic sale of parts of the Church and the auction of several pieces of art, the Committee managed to raise more than $60,000. The work began in 2013 and finished in 2016. Monsignor Bruce Joseph Andrew Myers OGS, the thirteenth Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Québec performed the consecration of the building in June 2017.

Building information

  • A Neo-Gothic wood-inspired construction
  • The building measures a length of 20 meters and a width of 7.7 meters
  • The Bell Tower is 15.7 meters high
  • The roof height is 8.6 meters