A Church and Proud People originally began as a history of Wesley United Church in Barrington, Nova Scotia. The work grew, however, to reflect more than just the history of a Nova Scotian church. It is a story of a community which was one of the earliest in the Maritimes to establish a Methodist Society. It is also a story of the people of a circuit which in its earliest days extended from Liverpool to Yarmouth.

The many voices which characterize this story are found in diary entries, personal journals, letters, minutes of business and sessional meetings, and interviews with members of the Barrington community who were a part of the Barrington Methodist Church prior to church union in 1925. There are stories of tragedy associated with the seafaring life of this coastal community and stories of the many special days surrounding community and church events. It is a story familiar to many Nova Scotian communities which encompass the period of the Loyalist landings of 1786 to the period of post World War One. Many changes in thought and custom are woven into the texture of this portrait of a church and proud people. Enjoy their story.

Lillian Scott-Perry is a retired teacher with an interest in the history of her community and her church. Her previous book, For Old Times Sake, chronicled the river drives on the Barrington River. Lillian grew up in a time when the adults in her community took an interest in sharing their knowledge of local history. She feels privileged to have had that experience and to be able to share that in A Church and Proud People.

Robert Malay is a Barrington area resident and a teacher. He has worked as an editor and a writer in the area of Language Arts curriculum, recently publishing Writing Sense (Harcourt/Brace, 1998). He has a keen interest in supporting young authors and in local history.