Sunday, December 25, 1927, after Christmas dinner, Dr. Judson Hetherington unveiled plans to the immediate Hetherington family of the reconstruction of Codys Baptist Church drawn by Harry Claire Mott from Saint John, New Brunswick. The old church was plain, large, but not elaborate. The plans showed that the new building had a belfry, transepts, a kitchen, and a large vestry at the end.
After Judson's sudden death on Sunday, January 29, 1928, while undergoing an operation in Montreal, Quebec, Anna continued to work on the renovations of the building of the new church with the community. The renovations began in the spring of 1928 and were completed by November; the re-dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1928. Anna Hetherington donated the sum of $5,000.00 towards the $8,000.00 renovation in memory of her husband, Judson Hetherington, and the church had undertaken to raise a sum of $3,000.00. These sums, however, did not include cost of transepts and memorial windows, pews and various other furnishings donated by Anna Hetherington, or the memorial bell presented by her daughters. Anna Hetherington commissioned two memorial stained glass windows. The first window, a tribute to Judson's parents, Thomas Thorne Hetherington and Violet Douglas (Thorne) which was made by Luxfer Prism Company of Toronto. The second window as a tribute to her late husband Judson (The Light of the World and St. Luke) made by Robert McCausland of Toronto. These windows were donated by Anna Hetherington and placed in the newly created church transepts. Anna would also donate the pews, the memorial bell and various other furnishings. Her daughters, Kate Coleman and Virginia McClure, both of Sikeston, Missouri, presented the church bell inscribed and very practical memorial to their father, Judson E. Hetherington. The Ladies Aid raised funds for and donated the new organ, and were gratefully thanked, as were also Harry Claire Mott, who had given gratuitous and painstaking service as architect, and Moses Doney, who, with Anna Hetherington, had acted for the church in all business related to details of carrying the work through. The pastor, Reverend B. M. Prangnell, appealed for $400 dollars to complete the amount the church had yet to raise to round out its share of cost. The special offering was taken, after which the choir rendered an anthem. Dr. F. W. Patterson followed with a sermon, his subject being "The Vine and its Branches." The dedication service was taken responsively by the pastor and congregation, Dr. Patterson offering an impressive dedicatory prayer. Miss Nellie Thompson played "The Hallelujah Chorus" on the organ and the service was concluded with the benediction pronounced by Dr. F. W. Patterson. The musical arrangements were under the direction Mrs. P. M. Prangnell. It made a great change in an old church and made it one of the nicest churches in the country, as attested to from a newspaper clipping stating: "equipped with facilities far in advance of most country churches." New sanitary facilities were added to the church in the 1980's and a new electric organ was added in 1986. Eva Robinson's (Dorothy (Robinson) Hetherington's) mother's piano came to live in Palmerston and Dorothy Hetherington's house permanently in the 1960's, subsequently, there was no room for Anna Hetherington's piano in Palmerston and Dorothy's house, which had been given to their daughter Elizabeth by Anna Hetherington in 1954. At that time, Anna Hetherington's piano was placed in the church and used every Sunday to supplement the electric organ and adds much to the church music. Technically, the piano belongs to Elizabeth, but will probably remain in the church for the indefinite present. A short time later, Anna moved to Sikeston, Missouri, to live with her daughter, Katherine Coleman, until her death on May 13, 1959. Even though she resided in Sikeston, Anna never forgot her links to New Brunswick. Her estate donated $5,000 for the maintenance of the Judson E. Hetherington Memorial Library at Saint John Hospital; and Anna endowed Acadia University with two scholarships specifically for New Brunswick students attending it, in her husband's name; as well as, under her in-laws, Thomas and Violet Hetherington. Sunday, October 9, 1977, a new memorial window was dedicated at the Codys Baptist Church in memory of the late Reverend Richard W. Hopkins (1888-1951) and over 200 were present including: Mrs. Hopkins (Lillian Gladys Wasson 1894-1990), William (1927-2015), Verna, Anna, William's son Talfryn and grandson Matthew. Reverend Richard William Hopkins was the pastor for Codys United Baptist Church from 1930 until his death in 1951. Photo: 1st. Hetherington, Michael. A Collection of Memories and Short Stories, by Arthur Palmerston Hetherington, Sr. (2018). First Johnston (Thornetown) Baptist Church. Dedicated. 1877. Photos: 2 & 3: PANB. 133. Baptist Church at Codys, front view. 132. East side view of the Baptist Church at Codys, Queens County, July 5, 1930. Text Citation: Hetherington, Michael. A Collection of Memories and Short Stories, by Arthur Palmerston Hetherington, Sr. (2018). pp. 43, 45, 56. Memorial Windows Splendid Example of Glazier's Art - Special to The Telegraph-Journal, November 26, 1928. Comments are closed.
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