Clarenville has a new church, and it's made of Lego bricks

CBC

27-04-2025

Rev. James Spencer spent almost a year building a replica of St. Mary's Anglican Church
Image | Reverend James Spencer
Caption: Rev. James Spencer has a passion for Legos, and he built an exact replica of his church from them. (St. Mary's Anglican Church - Clarenville/Facebook)
Open Image in New Tab
There are two Anglican churches in Clarenville: St. Mary's, and an identical one made of small plastic bricks.
Rev. James Spencer has been a Lego fanatic since he was eight years old, and he says he still has his old building sets to prove it.
He felt a burst of inspiration when he first started working at St. Mary's Anglican Church.
"I thought, 'You know what, this is a beautiful building. I'd love to try and see if I could actually put it together,'" Spencer told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.
That's exactly what he did.
Spencer started by measuring every surface in the church so he could scale it all down. Even the windows and artwork are all the same — he says the trick was taking pictures of them and printing tiny stickers to put on the bricks.
Lego St. Mary's is a true, one-to-one model of the real building, Spencer says. It took him the better part of a year to build and he says the parishioners appreciate the handiwork.
"I was thoroughly impressed," said Paul Tilly, who heard Spencer talking about his project for the past several months.
"He didn't only do this one, he did one for the church in Burgoyne's Cove, and I was amazed at how much of a replica of the real thing it was," said Tilly. "He's done a phenomenal job."
Spencer says sourcing some of the Lego pieces was a difficult task and he used some of the stock from his personal collection, but had to head to some online shops for roof tiles and other scarce-types of bricks.
The little Lego people inside the replica church aren't identical, but Spencer recognizes each and every one of them.
"There's me, and there's a little girl in the congregation who always brings a little stuffed dog," he said.
Spencer didn't stop creating when he finished the replica church. Downstairs at the real St. Mary's, he hosts the church's new Lego club on Thursday afternoons.
Spencer says it's an activity for everyone, including young Parker Johnson who says instead of playing video games in his room, he can now do something new.
"I've always wanted to build, but I never had the pieces," said Johnson, who was inspired by Spencer's work, too.
"I really like the details, and if you just look, everything is the same," he said. "Even the little blue poster that's over there. It's super detailed and that's why I love Legos, 'cause you can just do, like, insane things with them."
What's next on Spencer's Lego bucket list? He says he's going to take little St. Mary's to the Blocks on the Rock conference in St. John's set to take place in a few months.
For now, it has a special place near the real church's altar.