A Common Beginning
The Rev. William Proudfoot arrived from Scotland and founded a congregation which became First Presbyterian Church (United Associated Synod of the Secession Church). There followed a withdrawal of the Established Church adherents to form a separate congregation, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which, until it could build its first building, met in different downtown locations.
First Presbyterian Church
- 1836 - Church opened on the south side of York Street between Richmond and Talbot - referred to as "The Scotch Church"
- 1850s - Original church burned down
- 1862 - New church built on the south-east corner of Dufferin and Clarence Streets
- 1865 - Vestry and Sunday school room added
- 1893 - Church rebuilt
- 1903 - Sunday school and lecture hall added
- 1925 - Joined the United Church of Canada
First United Church
- 1932 - Improvements made to church
- 1937 - Voted to unite with St. Andrew's Church
- 1938 - Church building sold to London Life and torn down. Now used for parking for London Life.
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St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
- 1843 - Original frame church, called North Street Presbyterian, opened on the present site of FSA.
- 1844 - Established church adherents broke off to form St. James Presbyterian Church and built a church at the fork of Clarence and Richmond Street (now named New St. James Presbyterian Church and located at Wellington and Oxford Streets)
- 1868 - Cornerstone laid for present sanctuary building
- 1869 - New building opened
- 1888 - Present chancel built to house pipes for the first organ, a "Woodstock"
- 1905 - St. Andrew's Hall dedicated (east wing)
- ? date - Church parlour and rooms above added adjoining the sanctuary and Sunday school building
- 1925 - Joined the United Church of Canada
St. Andrew's United Church
- 1937 - Voted to unite with First Church
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First-St. Andrew's United Church
- 1938 - Renovation of sanctuary
- rebuilding and relocation of organ in chancel "pit" and pipes to chambers on either side of chancel to provide open chancel with east and west choir stalls facing each other
- removal of galleries on east and west side walls
- creation of centre aisle with new pews and chancel paneling on main floor
- central pulpit replaced with present side pulpit and lectern
- installation of present stained glass windows in chancel
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- 1949 - War memorial stained glass windows dedicated
- 1955 - Sanctuary redecorated
- symbols for 12 Apostles, 4 Gospels, Alpha and Omega painted on ceiling
- several stained glass memorial windows dedicated
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- 1956 - Present Chapel and Christian Education Building dedicated after 1905 building was gutted and rebuilt
- 1969 - New Casavant Freres tracker organ installed in balcony of sanctuary and chancel redesigned
- 1974 - New Casavant Freres organ installed in Chapel
- 1975 - Ceiling symbols covered with drywall when some plaster fell
- 1982 - Extensive updating of Christian Education Building and kitchens
- 1995 - Access addition incorporating chapel and sanctuary entrances, an elevator, and new washrooms installed
- 1999 - Sanctuary refurbished and ceiling symbols replaced
- 2005 -" Lower Hall" refurbished and renamed "Proudfoot Hall"
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Listing of Ministers
First Presbyterian (United after 1925) |
St. Andrew's Presbyterian (United after 1925) |
- Rev. Dr. William Proudfoot: 1832-1851
- Rev. Dr. J.A. Proudfoot: 1851-1889
- Rev. Dr. William L. Clarke: 1890-1907
- Rev. Dr. John G. Inkster: 1907-1913
- Rev. Dr. William J. Knox: 1913-1921
- Col. The Rev. William Beattie: 1821-1933
- Rev. Dr. Moir A.J. Waters: 1933-1937
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- Rev. Dr. John Scott: 1850-1875
- Rev. James A. Murray: 1875-1894
- Rev. Dr. Robert Johnston: 1895-1903
- Rev. Dr. James Ross: 1903-1913
- Rev. Dr. Donald C. MacGregor: 1914-1936
- Rev. Dr. John Y. MacKinnon: 1936-1937
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First-St. Andrew's United Church (Beginning Jan 1, 1938) |
- Rev. Dr. Moir A.J. Waters: 1938-1940
- Rev. Dr. John Y. MacKinnon: 1938-1951
- Rev. W.S. MacLeod: 1941-1942
- Rev. D. M. Bishop: 1942-1946
- Rev. O.P. Hossie: 1946-1947
- Rev.G.A. Cowper-Smith: 1947-1949
- Rev. J.S. Gibson: 1949-1958
- The Very Rev. Angus J. MacQueen: 1951-1964
- Rev. Dr. C.D. McLellan: 1958-1965
- Rev. Alexander J. Farquhar: 1964-1980
- Rev. Dr. G.B. Gray: 1965-1966
- Rev. G. P. Cumming: 1966-1969
- Rev. Dr. Moir A.J. Waters: 1969-1972
- Rev. D. Parsons: 1971-1973
- Rev. I.R. MacKay: 1974-1978
- Rev. D.R. Carothers: 1978-1980
- Rev. Anthony Gazzard: 1980-1989
- Major The Rev. J. Piercey MacLean: 1981-1990
- Rev. Dr. Frank Meadows: 1989-2000
- Rev. Deborah Carter: 1990-1991
- Rev. Catherine Moore: 1992-1998
- Rev. Dr. Susan Shelstad: 1997-
- Rev. Dr. David McKane: 2002-2010
- Rev. Dr. Kate Crawford: 2010-
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From the Archives - - by Jim Hutchinson
If church histories have red-letter days, May 25 should be crimson and in capitals for our congregation. May 25, 1868, saw celebrations on our site for the laying of the cornerstone of the current sanctuary. The earlier wooden church had outgrown its congregation and the decision was made to move the cemetery on this site to the outskirts of London on St. James St. In place of the cemetery a new brick structure which would seat 1200 and dominate the skyline for years to come was to be erected to house the congregation of St. Andrew's.
The day itself was a holiday, the celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday, the 24th being a Sunday that year. Events included a band parade by the London Light Infantry through downtown, beginning at midnight Sunday. Almost two columns of The London Evening Advertiser detailed other events of the day. A full three columns, however, were devoted to the laying of the cornerstone for the new Presbyterian Church.
Gathered on a dais erected for the occasion, clergy and political leaders gathered to address the crowd. Canada was still in its first year as a nation and optimism was everywhere. Governor General Lord Monck and Prime Minister John Alexander MacDonald were on hand along with provincial and civic leaders. The architect, contractor and prominent members of the church sat on the platform. Rev. Scott spoke at great length about the history of the congregation.
We display the silver trowel used on the occasion in our Atrium. It is engraved to memorialize the event. "In a cavity of the stone hewn for the purpose was deposited a tin-encased bottle containing sundry coins and papers" (LEA May 26). Strangely enough, we know a great deal about the day, but not the location of the stone. Is it still somewhere in our foundation? Was it removed and opened for some special event? Was it part of a cairn, which has since been removed? Does anyone recall a story or rumour?
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Footnotes from Our Past
- - by Gavin McGregor
Pride and Persistence
In March 1833 Proudfoot, in keeping with secessionist principles, requested his new congregation to elect a board of management. William Robertson, its treasurer, applied for and received a half-acre lot on York Street. Getting the land had a bittersweet taste when Colonel Talbot notified Proudfoot it was intended for all Presbyterians in London, including the ECS adherents; a decision based on misleading information provided by Mr. Robertson, a former ECS adherent.
While a legal dispute over ownership ran its course, a church gradually took shape. Proudfoot wrote: “This day [April 3, 1834] the framework of the roof has been put up. The business proceeds very slowly. What it will come to, I cannot tell, but appearances are not very smiling.” The court ruled in favour of Proudfoot’s congregation who opened the United Presbyterian (UP) church for public service on April 17th, 1836.
Although difficult, leaders of the ECS adherents managed to keep focused on building their own church. In 1841 an application made on behalf of Presbyterians of the Church of Scotland in London UC for three acres on the east side of Waterloo, between Duke (Dufferin) and North St. (Queens Ave.), was approved by the Crown.
The invigorated congregation opened North St. Presbyterian Church in 1843. In 1844 a majority voted to join the Canadian Synod of the Free Church of Scotland and became St. Andrew’s Presbyterian (Free Church). The minority, loyal to the Church of Scotland, separated and formed the congregation of St. James Presbyterian.
The principles of the Canadian Synods of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church were so similar that in 1861 they merged to become the Canada Presbyterian Church (CPC). At that particular time, the UP congregation was in the process of building a church to replace the York Street one destroyed by fire in 1859. The new church named First Presbyterian, located at the corner of Dufferin and Clarence, opened in 1862.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian and First Presbyterian now shared a common religious philosophy. See our chart above on this page to see how the two became First-St. Andrew's United.
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