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

i i I Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, April 27,1994 7 Sunday, May 1st brings St. Andrew's Andrew's Presbyterian Church congregation congregation to its 160th Anniversary. Their history is varied and rich. They are established and growing. The early history of Presbyterianism Presbyterianism in Bowmanville is fairly well documented. As early as 1834, some type of organization had been established. established. At that time, a travelling minister minister at large, Reverend William Leach was approached. Due to ill health, Mr. Leach was not able to cometo Bowmanville as a minister. The next step was to build a church. A meeting was held at Hinde's tavern on January 24, 1837. A committee was organized and an agreement was entered with Harvey Gilbert on February 23, 1839. The outside dimensions of the church building were 45 feet by 35 feet and 22 feet high. It was erected near the site of the present St. Andrew's (corner (corner of Church and Temperance Streets) and by March 26, 1842 Gilbert Gilbert was paid in full. Due to events in Scotland, the congregation was split on July 10, 1844. Those called The Free Church, in Scotland, broke away from the Presbyterian Church m Scotland. The majority of the Bowmanville congregation congregation followed and joined the Canadian Canadian counterpart, the (Free) Presbyterian Presbyterian Church of Canada. Since those breaking away from th Church of Scotland were of the majority, they kept the church building. building. Both sides appealed to Mr. Charles Bowman for help. It was Mr. Bowman who had given the land to the church. When Bowman did, he had stipulated certain conditions. One of these concerned electing trustees each year. This had not been done. On November 29, 1845, a Writ of Ejection was issued against the congregation congregation of the (Free) Presbyterian Church of Canada. Their lawyers advised advised them to give up possession of the church and they did. : This, left the congregation connected connected with the Church of Scotland (called St. Andrew's) in control of • the church building. They remained as a congregation until January 21, 1890 at which time they joined St. Paul's Presbyterian Church. During, their history, they had two ministers. The Reverend John Hugh MacKerras served from September 20, 1853 to 1866 when he joined the staff of Queen's University. Reverend Adàm Spenser preached from 1868 to 1883. St. Andrew's church building burned down in 1885. The congregation of the (Free) Presbyterian Church of Canada (named St. Paul's on December 7, 1877) was now without a church building. They were offered ah eighth of an acre of free land north of Concession Street (near Prospect and Lamb's Lane) and built there. Because Because this was a poor location, they chose to relocate. On Sunday, January January 29, 1871, the first services were held at the present St. Paul's Church on Silver and Church Streets. The first full-time Presbyterian minister in Bowmanville was the Reverend Alexander Steele. He was induced into the pastoral charge on July 2, 1845 and remained until 1849. Reverend John Smith arrived in 1851 and left in 1875. Smith ministered ministered to the two congregations of Bowmanville and Enniskillen from 1852 to 1869, at which time the Enniskillen Enniskillen congregation became independent. independent. Smith's ministry encompassed the time of unions. In 1861, the denomination denomination known as the (Free) Presbyterian Presbyterian Church of Canada joined with the United Presbyterian Church. (A United United Presbyterian congregation was in Bowmanville for a time. The Reverend Reverend Alexander Kennedy was the only settled minister they had.) The new denomination was known as the Canada Canada Presbyterian Church. More negotiations negotiations were held with other Presbyterian Presbyterian denominations. The end result was that most of the Presbyterian denominations denominations joined. This occurred on June 15, 1875. The new denomination denomination was known as The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Between 1875 and 1925, the following following six ministers served the St. Paul's Presbyterian congregation: Reverend James Little (1876 - November November 24, 1884), Reverend R. Douglas Fraser (August 18, 1885 - January 11, 1898), Reverend J.H. Turnbull (June 21, 1898 - April 28, 1903), Reverend Hugh Munroe (1903 - 1913), Reverend A. H. Drumm (May 8, 1913 - 1917) and Reverend D. W. Best (November 1, 1917 - June 10,1925). Guest Speaker < Michael Millar St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Temperance St., Bowmanville, Bowmanville, will celebrate its 160th Amu-, versary this Sunday morning, May 1st at 11 o'clock. The special speaker will be Michael Millar of Barrie. Mr. Millar was bom in Darlington, England England and immigrated to Canada in 1955. He and his wife, Dorothy, have three children. He is a former Convenor Convenor of the History Committee of The Presbyterian Church and as such . is very knowledgeable about the history history of the church in Canada. 'a3S*£o.« o ° • CONVENIENT "NO TURNING REQUIRED" • EASY SNAP- TOGETHER ASSEMBLY • ENCI0SED DESIGN, LOCKING LID • EASY HARVESTING THROUGH SLIDING DOOR • TEN YEAR WARRANTY • TOP TO R0TT0M SECURITY • LIGHT AND EASY TO CARRY • FITS ANY CAR TUB iDURHAMi region ^,rm manufacturer's [ bonus with i end» ONE DAY ONLY TRUCKLOAD SALE SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 9:00AM - 3:00PM NEWCASTLE LUMBER 361 KING ST. E., NEWCASTLE During the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, Christians Christians began to dream of a more united church. Negotiations were entered into by The Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Methodists and the Church of Christ. This proved very controversial for the Presbyterians. Some wanted union, but other did not. The final decision was handed down by General Assembly on June 10, 1925. They voted to join The United Church of Canada. As throughout the country, the Bowmanville Presbyterians struggled with the issue of union. On February 27, 1925, a congregational meeting was called to deal with the question. A total of 219 people were eligible to vote. The results were 111 in favour of union, 72 against and 1 rejected ballot. On June 10, 1925, St. Paul's Presbyterian congregation became part of the United Church of Canada. Those who did not agree with union union left the congregation of St. Paul's. On April 6, 1925, many attended attended a meeting at the parish hall of St. John's Anglican Church. A committee committee was formed and arrangements made to hold Sunday services at the Disciple's Church. (The Disciple's Church was dedicated on February 13, 1892. It was built on the site of the old St. Andrew's Church that burned.) On February 7, 1926, the congregation took as its name, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Negotiations were entered into, with the view of buying the Disciple's Disciple's Church building. (The Disciple's Disciple's congregation had disbanded in 1919.) A congregational meeting was held on September 14, 1925 with Trustees, elders and a Board of Managers Managers being elected. Presbyteiy was requested to allow the congregations of Bowmanville and Newtonville to become a single pastoral change. The Disciple's Church was brought in late 1926 for the sum of $6000.00. Permission was sought from Presbytery Presbytery to call a minister. Reverend Robert McDerment was extended a call and ministered from December 17, 1925 to April 1929 to thirty five families. Reverend W.J. Todd followed followed in September 1930, leaving in March 1934. During the rest of the great depression and the Second World War, Reverend W. G. Blake was in charge (September 1934 to September 16,1946.) Reverend F.R. Meredith (June 1949 - March 1952) was the last minister minister who had the two points of Bowmanville Bowmanville and Newtonville. On December December 31, 1956, during the period of Reverend Scott (November 6, 1952 - January 13, 1961), the Newtonville Newtonville congregation was disbanded. Reverend Fred Swann (October 26, 1961 - February 28, 1965) was called to the three point charge of Bowmanville, Bowmanville, Cadmus Church, Nestleton, and Ballyduff. This arrangement between the three congregations lasted from April 20,1961 to April 1,1965. Reverend Jim S. Gilchrist arrived in September 9, 1965 to minister to the St. Andrew's congregation and stayed until he retired in June 1979. February 3, 1980 brought Reverend Wayne Chatterton to the pulpit of St. Andrew's and he left in 1990. The charge remained vacant until November November 1, 1992, when the present minister, minister, Reverend Harvey Osborne, arrived. arrived. A congregation is made up of more than ministers and church buildings and St. Andrew's congregation congregation is no exception. Throughout the years, men, women and children have come to St. Andrew's to worship God. Today, the congregation experiences experiences a sense of continuity and the awareness of God's blessing as they celebrate 160 years of worship and service in this community. BOWMANVILLE LANDMARK -- The history of Presbyterianism in Bowmanville dates as far back as 1834 when the local congregation congregation sought a travelling minister to come to Bowmanville as pastor. Later, in 1837, the congregation met to plan the building of a permanent permanent church near the present site of St. Andrew's (at the comer of Church and Temperance St) 1 HE EARTH MACHINE ■r W ■ • 1 i'i 1 • Lj | □ ' Subsidized by The Ministry of the Environment and Energy ONLY tiroo It's the happiest time of your life, but it's also the busiest! Call us at The Statesman / and order your Wedding Invitations. Call us J ji / during the month of April and we 'll give v/>J| y you 15% off the regular price. z In addition, we'll give you a Wedding Photograph and Write-up, Absolutely FREE. y Call us at 623-33Q3 and ask us for the books. You can even take them home overnight. The Canadian Statesman 62 King Street West Bowmanville Telephone 623-3303