Elm St. United Church

A Brief History by Reg Beddington

In 1858 a small Methodist church at 44 Canal Street (now Moffat St.) served the community of Centreville, also known as Slabtown. The church was affectionately known as "Glory Hill" and also as Collier's Hall, for the local preacher, R.Collier. A recent walk along Moffat St. turned up no remains of the building, which had been a residence for some time.

Later, in 1875, a second Methodist church was built on what is now Pinecrest St. to replace "the little white church on St.David's Road (now Glendale Ave.)". This building still stands, at numbers 8 & 10 Pinecrest. It has been converted to apartments.

In 1888 permission was given by the Niagara Methodist Conference for the two churches to sell their properties and to build a new church on Elm Street to serve the combined congregations. The new church was dedicated on January 13, 1889. An article in the Christian Guardian for January 30^th described the church as being "of a modern type, and is exceedingly commodious and cheerful inside". The first minister was Rev. James Awde who received the princely salary of $600 per year.

A third church has long been a part of the Elm St. history, the McLean-Malpas Church on Merritt St. Known in early days as the Mountain Mission, the church was started by Isabel Malpas and Mrs. John McLean in the McLean home in 1893. After many years of using a barn on the McLean property for services a church building was erected in 1922, although it was still known as a "mission" for which the Women's Mission Society of the Methodist Church was responsible. In 1946 the McLean-Malpas Memorial United Church was attached to Elm St. to form a pastoral charge. The congregation was amalgamated with Elm St. in 1997.

From the beginning the Merritton church was a focus for the spiritual, social and educational needs of the community. In 1871, the congregation celebrated the arrival of a new pastor, Rev. John Ridley, with a "Peach Festival", "provided by the ladies of the place. Bushels of delicious fruit, aided by a profundity of cream, were served and all seemed well pleased with the feast. Very suitable music and singing were rendered by the choir and children; after which instructive and impressive addresses were delivered". (Christian Guardian, Oct.11, 1871)

In 1872 Rev. Ridley wrote in the Guardian that "Temporally and spiritually our circuit continues to enjoy great prosperity, and through the glorious revival of religion … an impetus has been given to zeal and liberality of our people far beyond the most sanguine expectations".

As the congregation grew its needs grew as well and were met by the work and financial backing of its members. By 1952 the Sunday School had grown to such proportions that "to cope with the pressure on the available space, classes were held in the auditorium of the Church, in the Choir loft, in the kitchen, behind the church piano". A fund-raising drive was held and the cornerstone of the new Christian Education Centre was laid on June 25, 1954.

This brief history was researched and written by Reginald Beddington. Reg passed away in 1984 before completing this project. The Rev. James Gibson finished the history and had it published in 1988.

"If the church is to relate to the community in a meaningful way, it must know where it has come from, where it is at present and where it is likely to be ten or twenty years hence. The next chapter in the story of Elm Street remains to be written. What that story will tell will reveal the depth of vision, courage and dedication that the present and future congregations bring to the task of being the church among the people and for the people."