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St. John’s, while celebrating its
80th Anniversary as a United Church in 2005, has roots on its
present site going back to 1851 as a Methodist Sunday School and
1854 when Waterloo Street Methodist Church was organized. Its first
building of frame, was erected in 1857 and replaced by a brick
building in 1880. In October of 1903 the congregation adopted the
name Trinity Methodist Church.
In 1925 before the United Church officially came into being, those
from Knox and St. Andrews Presbyterian Churches who favoured union
came together to form a new congregation which they decided to name
First United. Not receiving permission to claim one of the two
Presbyterian churches, they began negotiations with Trinity
Methodist to amalgamate. The joint congregation agreed to the name
St. John's in recognition of Presbyterian, Methodist and
Congregational origins and their founders, John Knox, John Wesley
and John Calvin.
St. John’s also become the home of many members of the former
Primitive Methodist Church, a congregation of escaped slaves, who
were welcomed into the homes of area farmers.
By 1926, plans were underway for the building, which is our Church
home today, and in 1958, yet another milestone was reached when the
Christian Education Centre was added to the facility. From these
simple, but determined beginnings,
St. John’s has developed a strong tradition of an active,
outreaching faith, a love of music, and a warmth for people of all
ages.
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