This Anglican influence stayed with Robert even after he joined the Methodist church in later years, as he still relied on documents such as the Book of Common Prayer in his ministry.

Ultimately, it was also meant to keep the British Government sympathetic to the HBC in case another party tried to stake a claim on Rupert's Land.

The company's Governor in Rupert's Land, Sir George Simpson, wanted to avoid giving ground to the Roman Catholic missionaries, who were backed by the French Government and already had a presence in the eastern districts, and maintain the HBC's control over the west.

Governor Simpson later professed support for a school in the area to be taught by Rundle with native children attending, but this did not materialize.

Rowand expressed fear that conversion by missionaries would distract the natives from the trapping and trading of animal furs, which was vital to the company's operation.

A linguist, Evans is credited with devising the syllabics, which constitutes a written language for the Cree and was subsequently taught by Rundle and others.

[9] Evans' removal to face trial for a sexual misconduct, and untimely death, in 1846, left Rundle and his Methodist colleagues unsupported.

Though De Smet was Catholic and Rundle was a Methodist Protestant, the two managed to debate theology in a cordial manner despite the sometimes-contentious divisions of the Christian schism.

Rundle often wintered at the Fort, and visited with the natives through the spring and summer to preach the gospel and educate them in the Cree syllabics invented by his Wesleyan missionary colleague, Reverend James Evans.

Rundle persevered for eight years in Rupert's Land until he suffered a more serious injury from a horse-riding accident – a fractured wrist – in July 1847.

He was evidently offered a missionary post in Australia;[11] however, his plans changed when he married a woman named Mary Wolverson in 1854, and he stayed in England.

The mission served the Cree, Stoney, and Blackfoot peoples, instructing them not only in Christianity, but in reading and writing in syllabics, and growing crops.

[13] Unsupported, Sinclair abandoned the mission in 1851 and continued his work elsewhere;[13] the structures were inhabited again by Rundle's Methodist successors, Rev.

[14] Sinclair and Woolsey maintained Rundle's remaining followers, and the Methodist church in central Alberta survived and grew into the 20th century.

Each ledger typically notes the first and last names of the persons involved (including parents of children for the baptisms), the age of the child (for baptisms), the date of the ceremony, and the precise location when applicable (although occasionally he broadly refers to the location as "Saskatchewan District" when the ceremony was performed away from a Hudson's Bay Company post or body of water).

Additionally, Rundle kept an anecdotal record in his journal, shedding light on his experience as a missionary and a Christian, and on life within Hudson's Bay Company posts.