St. Stephen's United Church
Black River Bridge NB

Loggieville/ Black River Pastoral Charge is a four point charge that serves the congregations of Knox United Church (Loggieville, New Brunswick), Carmel United Church (Napan, New Brunswick), St. Stephen's United Church (Black River Bridge, New Brunswick) & Myer's United Church (Hardwicke, New Brunswick).

 

 

History of Loggieville-Black River Pastoral Charge

The Loggieville-Black River Pastoral Charge is comprised of four churches — Black River Bridge (St. Stephen’s), Napan (Carmel), Hardwicke (Myer’s), and Loggieville (Knox) — located in Northumberland County, New Brunswick around Miramichi Bay.

Initially known as Black Brook, Loggieville traces its Presbyterian origins to 1895. In that year local Presbyterians, who had previously been required to attend St. Andrew’s Church in Chatham, decided to form a congregation in their own locale. At a meeting on 27 March 1896 a formal request was made to Miramichi Presbytery to establish a church in the community and on 7 May of that year, permission was granted. In addition to the school house, early services were held at the Temperance Hall until the construction of the Knox Church which was dedicated on 22 May 1904.

The first minister at St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Black River Bridge, the Rev. Simon Fraser of Inverness, Scotland, presided at the opening of the church on 20 November 1836. That structure was used until 1903, when a new building was begun. The new church was completed in 1906. There was also a Presbyterian Church at nearby Bay du Vin which was built in 1812, but the congregation had no pastor until 1837. In 1877 a Presbyterian work in Napan became a part of the Black River Congregation, but Carmel Presbyterian Church in Napan was not built until 1883. In 1925 these churches became part of The United Church of Canada.

In 1925, the Presbyterian churches in Loggieville, Black River Bridge, Bay du Vin, and Napan voted to become part of the new United Church of Canada. Loggieville was its own separate pastoral charge while Black River contained the appointments of Black River Bridge, Napan, and Hardwicke.

In 1960, Loggieville and Millbank became the Loggieville-Millbank Pastoral Charge. Four years later, in 1964, Loggieville Pastoral Charge and Black River Pastoral Charge amalgamated to become Loggieville-Black River Pastoral Charge. The new pastoral charge included the appointments of Black River Bridge, Hardwicke, Loggieville, and Napan. Millbank became an appointment of Tabusintac Pastoral Charge at this time.

From: https://marconf.ca/46525-history-of-loggieville-black-river-pastoral-charge/