A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WHITBY FREE PRESS History of St. Mark's continued The Methodist congregation was growing quickly in the early 1850s, and under the supervision of the circuit rider Rev. Peter Kerr, plans were made to build the first permanent Methodist church in the village of Whitby. On March 23, 1854, land was purchased at the north west corner of Centre and Mary Streets on .which to build a church. The owner of the property, John Ham Perry, son of Peter Perry, donated half the purchase price. He was an Anglican, and not a Methodist, but he liberally supported many town organizations. The congre- gation was still short of money, so the trustees of the church had to dip into their own pockets to come up with the balance of the price. These trustees were William Thorndike, Jacob Bryan Sr., Robert Morrow, John Welton, George Abbott, James Rice and James Hodgson. Also in 1854, Yeoman Gibson and his family donated the first silver communion set to the church. It is still in existence today, and in 1954, Miss Alma Gibson completed a century of service started by her mother in preparing the elements of the Sacrement. In June 1854, Rev. D. B. Madden became the first resident Methodist minister in Whitby, replacing the circuit riders who had Whitby as one of many congregations they had to call upon. At this time the Whitby Circuit consisted of Whitby, East Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering as far west as Duffin's Creek, and six concessions in Reach including the villages of Port Perry, Prince Albert, Manchester and Utica. There were about 70 to 80 communicants in the Whitby village congregation. The work on the new brick church proceeded slowly until it was completed in 1856 and opened for public worship in March 1857. The preacher at .the dedication was Rev. Dr. E. Wood, president of the Toronto Conference. The old church at Centre and Mary Streets stands to this day, and is presently an apartment building. During the time the Methodists occupied the church on Mary Street, Pickering and adjacent areas were separated from the Whitby Circuit in 1863, and Oshawa in 1869, reducing the membership of the Whitby congregation itself to 314. Brooklin, Columbus and Kedron were set off in f Š76, leaving Whitby with 240 members.. In 1871 Rev. J., E. Sanderson became the minister of the Methodist Church in Whitby, and contributed to the growth of the church by building a Sunday school in rear of the building, and initiating plans to build a new church, as the old one was becoming overcrowded. Rev. Mr. Sanderson was the founder of the Ontario Ladies' College, and served as its governor from 1874 to 1879. In 1874, Rev. John S. Clarke became the minister of the Methodist congregation and it was he who carried out the plans to build what is now St. Mark's United Church. In May of 1875 a building committee was formed to seek a site for a new church and property was purchased from Dr. R. J. Gunn at the south east corner of Colborne and Centre Streets. The building committee consisted of Yeoman Gibson, James R. Philp, James Holden, John L. Smith, Stephen Grass, Richard Hatch, and J. B. Powell. The architect for the new church was C. M. Mulligan of Hamilton, and the Whitby cantractors were William Dunkley and William Westlake for the brick and stone work, William Barnes for the carpenter and joiner work, Thomas Sleigh for the painting, and Hatch and Brother for the iron and tin work. On July 7, 1875, the secretary of the building committee was asked ta negotiate for financing from two bank managers and was turned down by both, as money was scarce and the venture was thaught ta be too speculative. Eventually $13,000 was raised through private loans, The Star Loan Company of England and life premiums on members of the church. The final cost of the church was about $25,000. On Aug. 12, 1875, James Holden, president of the Ontario Ladies' College, managing director of the Whitby and Port Perry Railway, and a director of the Dominion Bank, laid the corner stone of the Methodist Tabernacle, assisted by Rev. John Clarke, Rev. John Shaw, secretary of the Toronto Conference and Rev. W. H. Laird, chairman of Whitby District. The Brooklin choir supplied the music and a tin box containing documents and coins was placed in the cavity beneath the stone. Following the ceremony, Dr. Egerton Ryerson, President of the General Conference of the Methodist Church, gave an address at the old church on Mary Street., The main church building was 120 by 78 feet, with walls 38 feet high. A Sunday School building was located at the rear of the church. The ediface was topped by two massive steeples, one 80 and the other 165 feet high. The building bore the impressive name of the "Methodist Tabernacle". Rev. Dr. Wood returned to Whitby for the dedication of the Methodist Tabernacle on Sept. 7, 1876. Rev. John Potts and Rev. W. H. Laird took part in the dedication, which was followed by a supper served by the ladies of the congregation. On Sept. 10, 1876, Rev. S. S. Nelles, President of Victoria University and Rev. George Douglas, President of the Wesleyan Theological College in Montreal, preached at the Tabernacle. The Methodist Tabernacle was the largest church in Whitby, with a seating capacity of 800, although as many as 1,500 people filled the church for Rev. Douglas's speech. It took 460 yards of damask to upholster the original pews and there were 625 yards of carpeting on the floor. The organ was built in Montreal at a cost of $2,500 and shipped to Whitby for installation in 1877. After the first parsonage on the new site burned down about 1876, a brick house on the west side of Byron Street between Colborne and Dunlop Streets was purchased as a parsonage. In 1912, under the pastorate of Rev. M. E. Sexsmith, the present church house on the south west corner of Byron and Colborne Streets (formerly Dr. Gunn's house) was purchased as the parsonage. In 1963 it was replaced by a new parsonage on King Street. Other improvements to the church included the installation of new pews in 1916, the enlargement of the Sunday School in 1923, and remodelling the pulpit area and choir loft in 1939. An historic occasion at the Tabernacle was the Bay of Quinte Conference Session which was held there from June 2 to 9, 1913. Of even greater historic value was the vote by the Unionist section of the Presbyterian Church to join with the Methodist Church to form the United Church of Canada. This took place on Feb. 1, 1925, and on June 14, 1925, 87 members of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church joined the Whitby United Church at its inaugural service, and Rev. Edward Turkington of St. Andrew's became an associate pastor of the United Church. On April 1, 1929, tragedy struck, as a violent wind storm blew down the large steeple of the United Church. A large 'rowd gathered to watch the steeple tottering in the wind, and at 5:45 p.m., it fell with a crash against the smaller steeple on the e-ast tower. An historic day of a happier note was Oct. 21, 1945 when the mortgage of the church was burned by Misses Alma Gibson and Nellie Harper, ending 70 years of debt on the building. In 1876 the church has 240 members, and at the time of the mortgage burning, the membership was 540. Under the pastorate of Rev. R. J. Scott, in 1953, a campaign was started to build a new church hall, which was completed under the direction of the present minister Rev. John Smith. On Sept. 18, 1955, Harold Boys, chairman of the Board of Trustees, laid the corner stone for the new hall, and on March 11, 1956 it was officially ipened by Rev. Scott and Rev. C. W. Hutton, and dedicated by Rev. Smith. The latest in a se ries of historic events occurred in 1962 when the congregation voted to change the name of the Whitby United Church to St. Mark's United Chu rch. After 1 50 years, the congregation of St. Mark's United Church -remains strong and vigorous, with growth expected as the town of Whitby expands. The Methodist and United Churches in Whitby were built on a firm foundation and a legancy which has been passed f rom generation to generation. On the weekend of June il to 13, 1976, the members of St. Mark's will pause for a moment to remember those who came before them and built both the church and the congregation which flou rish in this town today. A project for Canada's Centennial Year, which is rapidly becoming a collector's item, was the booklet 1826-1967, a history of St. Mark's congregation. The fascinating work, the result of devoted effort and research on the part of Miss Flor'?nce M. Heard and Mrs. Chas. E. Broughton, with sketches by the former Miss Vicki Evans, is an important chronicle of St. Mark's history. Miss Heard, assisted by Miss Eleanor Correll and Rev. John Smith has updated the work in a supplement covering the events of the last ten years and it is expected that copies will be available on Homecoming Weekend. ST. MARK'S CELEBRATION 150, PAGE 3 Live Love -continued time Chaplain on the staff to serve both those who have an association with a local church and those who do not, when the need arises. Five Oaks Christian Workers Centre is one of four such training centres operated by the United Chu rch of Canada, and presents an outstanding programme of seminars and workshops covering an almost limitless range of subjects. Teen conferences, Couples Weekend for Marriage Enrichment. Family Canoe Camp, Dialogue Between Genera- tions, One Parent Family Camp are just a few of the events on the 1976 Five Oaks Calendar which is a year round programme featuring outstanding leadership. Five Oaks has been designed as a place to relax, to reflect, to enjoy, to achieve, to grow, to serve. For its overseas committment in 76 St. Mark's has three Live Love Projects, support of Lee Holland in Zambia, Rev. and Mrs. Howlett in Japan and Miss Edna Crysdale R.N. Lee Holland, a graduate in Animal Science from the University of Guelph, has been an agricultural missionary with the United Church for several years in Zambia where he has set up training programme for Zambian farmers which has been lauded oy many relief agencies and governments. It is good to feed the hungry, but better to teach them how to feed themselves. Edna Crysdale R.N. is stationed at the United Mission Hospital in Tansen, Nepal, where she/is directing nursing education. Rev. and Mrs. F. Howlett are evangelical missionaries working in Japan and derive part of their support from St. Mark's. The United Church of Canada wants its members not just to talk love but to Live Love. United Church -- continued within the church there is no attempt to compell everyone to accept the precise interpretation held by anyone else. There is room for interpretation. As a result Tha United Church of Canada has members who are highly conservative and highly liberal -- some who interpret the resurrection as a physical fact and others who see it as a spiritual symbol, that death did not vanquish the life of J esu s. Membership in the United Church of Canada, therefore, does not rest on a rigid acceptance of a creed, but on essential acceptance of the life of Christ as the continuing example of what the Christian faith is. The Bible is not a literal book, from which proof tests can be quoted carelessly and. at random to prove an argument, but as a completely adequate resource for one who 'wishes to study seriously the Christian faith and live it. The United Church has always been concerned for social justice, and does not agree with those who see the gospel as having nothing to do with the ethical issues posed by the relationship of business, labor and politics to the everyday lives of people. In years past, it was in the forefront of those fighting for old age pensions and social welfare. Today it is engaged in issues such as the guaranteed annual income, land use, and rights of farm labourers to organize. The United Church is not directed from the top down. Each local congregation, whether in Whitby or in Winona, is responsible for the conduct of its own affairs. It is represented in the Presbytery (the local presbyte~ry is Oshavva) of which there are 90 across Canada. The presbytery is made up of representatives, lay and clerical, who meet regularly to oversee the work of the congregations in the area and to deal with any issues that cail for collective action in their areas. In turn, the Presbyterians are represented in Conferences, (the Oshawa Presbytery is part of the Bay of Quinte Conference) which have oversight over the Presbyteries. There are twelve conferences in the entire church. Finally, the national body of the church is the General Council, often referred to as "The Highest Court" of the Chu rch. It is here that programs and administrative matters of the national church are considered and acted upon. Here, too, some of the major national issues which the church must wrestle with -- abortion and capital punishment for example -- are often sharply debated and voted upon, to reflect the democratic view of Canada's largest Protestant church. No one person speaks for the church, not ·the moderator, not the local minister, not the editor of The United Church Observer. Only the General Council can. Like all churches, the United Church today, feels that pressure of changing times and is moving as best it can to meet the new demands. It is increasingly interested and involved in services to senior citizens and alienated youth, relgased prisoners and hospital patients. As the country becomes more and more urbanized, it is seeking new ways of effective services to the large, impersonal communities in Which more and more Canadians wilI live.,#