Rev. Addie Aylestock (1909–1998) was a Canadian minister in the

British Methodist Episcopal Church The British Methodist Episcopal Church (BMEC) is a Methodist denomination based in Canada. The BMEC was organized on 26 September 1856. The majority of the British Methodist Episcopal Church merged with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME ...

, the first woman minister to be ordained in that church, and the first black woman to be ordained in Canada.

Personal life

Aylestock was the daughter of William Aylestock and Minnie Lawson and was the eldest of eight children. She was born in Glen Allan, near

Elmira, Ontario Elmira is the largest community in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is north of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo near the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's northern border with Wellington County, Ontario, Wellington County. ...

, from one of the many black farming communities in the province of Ontario; her family lived depending on where work was available. Her family was descended from blacks who settled along the Conestogo River in

Regional Municipality of Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Ontario, Cambridge, Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Waterl ...

and

Wellington County, Ontario Wellington County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The county consists of two towns and five townships, with its seat in the City of Guelph, which is geograp ...

. She was raised in the (white) Methodist Church; she moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

when the Great Depression struck, and got a job as a domestic servant, and later as a dressmaker. While working as a domestic servant, she attended evening classes at

Central Technical School Central Technical School is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech is located in the H ...

in Toronto. A desire to become a missionary (in Liberia) led her to enroll in the (transdenominational) Toronto Bible College, from which she graduated in 1945. While a student in college, Aylestock became active with the youth and working with Sunday school in a BME (British Methodist Episcopal) church on Chestnut Street in Toronto. The pastor encouraged Aylestock to consider becoming a deaconess. She joined the

(an offshoot of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

) and became a deaconess in 1944. Her first position was in the church in

Africville Africville was a small community of predominantly African Nova Scotians located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It developed on the southern shore of Bedford Basin and existed from the early 1800s to the 1960s. From 1970 to the present, a pro ...

. She also served as a deaconess in Halifax,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and Toronto. After the BME allowed for the ordination of women in 1951 (prompted by the church superintendent's belief in Aylestock's capability), she was the first to be ordained, and was assigned to the BME Church in

North Buxton North Buxton is a Dispersed settlement, dispersed rural community located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1849 as a community for and by former African-American Slavery in the United States, slaves who escaped to Canada to ...

. She served as pastor in three further churches, namely in

and

Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...

.; Kim Brooks, ''Welcome to the revolution,'' in Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia ed., ''Reflections of Canada'', 2017, p. 55 Aylestock's obituary, published in the

St. Catharines Standard The ''St. Catharines Standard'' is a daily newspaper of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. the publication was owned by Torstar but on May 26, 2020, the company agreed to be acquired by NordStar Capital, a private investment firm. The ...

, said she also presided over churches in

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of ...

and

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylestock, Addie 1909 births 1998 deaths Canadian Methodist ministers Black Canadian people Black Canadian women African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy Women Protestant religious leaders Tyndale University College and Seminary alumni