From the time of the early settlers until
now, the
Presbyterians have always held
services. They first met in homes with
ministers who travelled through the forests
on horseback, then in several buildings in
different locations.
By the 1830s a congregation had been formed
and application to the
General Assembly of
the Established Church of Scotland for a minister was
made. Rev Henry Gordon answered the
call and in 1834 became the first resident
minister.
Trustees were elected and steps were taken
to build a church. It was a brick
building forty feet long and thirty five
feet wide standing sixteen feet high.
It could seat two hundred people on narrow
pews like long benches with open ends.
These were rented to the parishioners.
After a delay during the
1837 Rebellion as
it had been commandeered to serve as a jail,
the "Kirk" was dedicated as
St Andrew's.
A second congregation know as the Free
Congregation met in a Baptist Chapel on
Garbutt Hill, under the leadership of Rev
George Bruce. They soon outgrew this
small facility and by 1874 convinced the
members of the "Kirk" to unite the two
congregations.
Land at the corner of Eagle and Water
Streets was purchased from the
Honourable
Williams McMasters and a new building
designed by John F Stokes was erected.
It could seat four hundred people and Rev
Bruce became the minister as Rev John Brown
of the Kirk retired. The new
St
Andrew's was dedicated February 28th, 1875.
Many changes not only to the building but
also the worship services have been
experienced over the years.
Instrumental music replaced the
Precentor and
his tuning fork. Various organs were
purchased with the first pipe organ being
powered by water from the nearby river.
With this change came hymn books which have
been revised several times.
The interior has been altered until it now
serves as a Church School classroom and the
play area for a Nursery School.
As the congregation grew the house to the
east of the church property was purchased in
the 1950s and was used as church meeting
rooms and the office. It served us
well until the Christian Education wing was
added in 1964 when everything was once again
under one roof.
Before long the sanctuary could not
accommodate the number of worshippers each
Sunday. The first step to solve this
was to go to two services, then look for new
facilities. After many meetings and a
diligent Building Committee, it was decided
to renovate the Christian Education wing and
build a new sanctuary. The new
facilities were completed in 1992 when it
was dedicated June 13th.
We continue to practice being a caring
congregation seeking to share, show and
speak about the love and joy of God under
the leadership of our ministers and
dedicated congregation.
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