Good Shepherd, Woodstock, ON
Good Shepherd Church in the east end of Woodstock, Ontario, was built in 1951. With some difficulty, the original building, an army hut, had been moved from London to its new location on the west side of Huron Street, just south of Devonshire Ave. The Church of the Good Shepherd was dedicated on Monday May 2nd at 8:00pm by the Right Reverend George N. Luxton, Lord Bishop of Huron with eight clergy and a congregation of 174 being present.
It became apparent during the Incumbency of the Rev'd K. G. Docksey (1957-1961) that the facilities of the Parish had reached their peak, and that plans must be started to build either an addition or a new Church and it wasn't until the Rev'd Ian Williams (1961-1965) arrived that concrete plans were made about new facilities. Events moved quickly over the next few years.
1964 The old church was moved to the new site on Devonshire and incorporated into the present structure on the north side of the building. The sod was turned April 19th, the Third Sunday after Easter, by Mr. George H. Hardy, an original member of the Parish who had recently celebrated his 87th birthday. He was accompanied by his grandson, James Hardy, as the Crucifer.
The first service in our new Church was held on Christmas Eve with 198 in the congregation.