The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

St. John's United congregating for 180 years By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF St. John's United Church will celebrate 180 years as a congregation in central Oakville this Sunday. Lasting nearly 200 years as a congregation says a lot about the sense of community at St. John's United, according to church historian and archivist Joyce Stephenson. "I think the title of my book says it all -- ever faithful. Regardless of what challenges, differences or problems may exist, we still remain faithful to each other, to God and to our church," said Stephenson. The book she refers to is titled Ever Faithful: A History of St. John's United Church 1832-2007, which was launched in 2007 during the United church's 175th celebration. "We had an awful lot of interesting information and there had been a short history written back in 1972... (but) there was just a lot more history we could add to it, and so I decided to take on the task," Stephenson explained. The historian noted the first recorded data in the church's archives go back to the minutes of a meeting that took place the weekend of Oct. 13-14, 1832 during the Nelson Circuit. "The Nelson Circuit refers to the Methodist churches that began in the early 1800s, most of them were all along Dundas Street and... every few weeks a circuit rider, a Methodist preacher who only travelled by horseback, would get around to all the churches... the circuit riders were very important in those early days of starting churches," Stephenson said. That date in 1832 is the first official record of the Oakville Methodist Church connecting with other pioneer congregations -- the church would eventually become St. John's United Church in 1925 after the Methodists joined two other 13 · Friday, October 19, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com SUBMITTED PHOTO substantial history: St. John's Church circa 1953 with the adjoining Lusk Hall. The church is celebrating its 180th anniversary. denominations: the Congregationalists and more than half of the Presbyterian Church of Canada to create the United Church. When Oakville was founded in 1827, the Methodists who moved to the area began to gather in an old meeting house on the land where the Burloak Canoe Club now sits. "The meeting house acted as a kind of community hall, it was a school, it was a meeting place of everyone in the town in those early days," Stephenson said. The local Methodists then began to build a church in the area of what is now Lakeshore Road East and Thomas Street, where they met between 1835-1840, after which they had to sell the property when they could no longer afford it. Without a church for the next 10 years, the group of worshippers met at The Old Temperance Hall located on Trafalgar Road, until 1850 when they bought a property on Randall Street and built a church there -- that is where the current building at 262 Randall St., which was erected in 1877, stands and the St. John's United congregation now meets every week. Since its construction, the current St. John's United Church building has seen major renovations in 1952 and most recent- ly in 2009 -- the last renovation involved the church's foundation, basement, sewer lines and Lusk Hall. A point of pride with the church congregation is the building's stained glass windows, which Stephenson says tell sermons in and of themselves. The 180th anniversary celebration will begin with a service at 10:30 a.m. with guest speaker Rev. David McKane. Born in Northern Ireland, McKane came to Canada as a teenager, becoming ordained in 1970. He has studied at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and holds a doctorate in narrative theology from the University of Toronto. McKane has also served in churches in Ireland, Nova Scotia and Ontario, and became senior minister of First-St. Andrew's United Church in London, Ont. in 2001 -- eventually retiring from his ministry in 2010. The Henderson Memorial Bell Choir will also provide music during the celebration. Following the church service, a luncheon will be served in Lusk Hall, with a display of the church's history -- a booklet of the stained glass windows will also be available. For more information about the church and its anniversary celebration, visit http:// stjohnsunited.ca. PAEDIATRICS Dr. Rick MacDonald Is pleased to announce that B.Sc., M.D., F.R.C.P.(C)., F.A.A.P. Dr. Cynthia Fiorini MD., F.A.A.P, D.A.B.P Will be joining his practice in Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine and will be replacing THE NEW OPEN! THE FUTURE IS NOW. We have created a studentcentred learning environment to unleash the academic potential of all students in the College and to maximize the accomplishments and potential of our graduates. - Marc Ayotte, Head of College Senior School NOW Michael G. DeGroote Dr. Silloo Mistry Who is retiring after 42 years serving the Oakville Paediatric Community THE OFFICE IS NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS UP TO 17 YEARS OF AGE We are accessible and affordable. Call Scott Barton 905-389-1367 For information or to book an appointment, Or e-mail at: Kidsdoc1@me.com Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent day school for students from M3 and PK to Grade 12. Visit us at www.hsc.on.ca. Please call (905) 845-6181