Division Street United Church, Our History

Reference in Session minutes of 1887 is to "unity, harmony and hearty co-operation which are enjoyed by this congregation and which are so essential to the great ends for which a Christian congregation exists".  The worshipping congregation of Division Street United Church continue to display, with the leadership of committed lay and pastoral ministry persons, a depth of devotion  and commitment to a broad community ministry as evidenced by the Mission  Statement of the present congregation:

The pioneer settlers, referred to in that first mission  statement, lived on farms, and in the village of Sydenham, which later became  Owen Sound. Like Abraham of old who "pitched his  tent and built an altar", they were not long in beginning the struggle to found a church.  An early history in "A Century of Division Street Church" states: "their spirit of adventure was strong, their hopes were high, their courage  undaunted".

Many of these early settlers were Scottish in origin and Presbyterian in faith. Their religious activities were limited at first to "house church" meetings of families and neighbours. Application was made to Hamilton Presbytery to send them a regular minister. The first Presbyterian congregation took the name Chalmers Church and worshipped in a log building on the north side of 8th Street East "at the top of the hill". They were associated with the Free Church of Scotland in Canada and their minister, inducted in 1849, was Rev. John McKinnon .

Some of the congregation favoured the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland or the "U.P.'s". They could receive  communion with the Chalmers congregation but were not permitted baptism for their children.  In 1852 this group, joined by other families, began to meet regularly "below the hill" in the Village of Sydenham and it is this group which founded our Division Street congregation.  They worshiped in various  places - Butchart's  Hall near the corner of Poulette Ave. and Division  Street (now 2nd Ave  East and 10th Street), in a log house which eventually became the Salvation  Army Citadel on 3rd Ave East  near the  corner of Division  Street, and in homes of members. As a congregation they were committed to  the cultural and communal expression of the Christian faith.

In 1857 a frame church of blocked plaster, stained to imitate stone, was built. When the present stone building was completed in 1886 the plaster building then housed the Sunday school. In 1905 a Sunday School Hall was added to the stone church. With the ensuing growth in the congregation a larger space was needed for all the church activities. The Christian Education Building was added in 1958 with the stone from the demolished Sunday School Hall used to provide a link between the old and the new. In 1984 a ramped entrance was built.

Over the years many structural changes  have been made to the sanctuary.  In 1946 the front of the sanctuary  was remodelled as the congregation's memorial to its soldier sons who died  in World  War II. In 1964 the narthex was enlarged and, along with the  sanctuary, they were rewired. Modern lighting fixtures were installed at this time.  In addition to the ramped entrance making our church more accessible and welcoming, space for wheelchairs in the sanctuary and a wheelchair accessible washroom on the main level  of the building were provided. In 2002 a new sound system with assisted hearing devices was installed in the sanctuary enabling all present to participate fully in worship.

1. We celebrate: Persons in ministry who have given leadership and guidance to the congregations of Division Street Church:

1856-1857        Rev. James Gibson  

1860-1868        Rev. Thomas Stevenson

1870-1874        Rev. C.C. Stewart

1875-1906        Rev. John Sommerville

1907-1911        Rev. George A. Woodside

1912-1922        Rev. Thurlow Fraser

1922-1931        Rev. John L. Mclnnis

1931-1940        Rev. E.W. Jewitt

1940-1948        Rev. Harold W. Vaughan

1948-1956        Rev. G. Keith McMillan

1956-1966        Rev. G. Cameron Quigley

1966-1974        Rev. Robert K. Shorten

1974-1986        Rev. Harvey Murphy

1979-1981        Margaret Quigley, Christian Education Director

1985-1987        Rev. Ann Marie Allen, Assistant Minister

1986-1997        Rev. Dr. Brian A. Brown

1987-1998        Rev. Milton Schwartzentruber, Assistant Minister

1987-1998        Eva Schwartzentruber, Staff Associate

1990-                Rev. Edwin McDonald, Honourary Associate Minister

1991-1995        Rev. Ralph Schmidt, Honourary Community Minister

1997-2000       Rev. M. Elizabeth McKinlay

1998-2001       Margaret A. Collard, Diaconal Minister

2000-2001      Rev. Deborah L. Murray

2001-2004      Rev. Keith Reynolds
2004-               Rev.   Cathy Hird  

2001- 2006     Heather McCarrel, Student Supply  Minister
2006 -               Kara MCCluskie, Staff Associate

2. We Celebrate: The members of the congregations who over the years have faithfully served the church and whose contributions have left an honourable legacy of service to Division Street Church, the community and the world. The ministry of some of these church members continues through gifts, memorial gifts and legacies.

When the church was built in 1886 furnishings were purchased with money raised by the newly formed Ladies Aid. Many gifts were contributed by interested persons - the pulpit and pulpit chairs, the Communion table (now in the narthex) and the steam heating. Each of the Elders purchased his own chair to be brought out only on Communion Sundays.

Stained glass windows, made by Robert  McCausland      Limited          , have been   presented   over the years  by the       Rixon,  Prudham,   Clark,    Abra, Fleming  and   Trout,  Merritt   and   Telford  families     as memorials.    In 1920, the first   of   the windows  was   presented by  the choir and former    choir members  in memory   of men who  gave  their  lives in World War I.

An inscription on the west wall of the sanctuary, written by  former   minister Rev. Dr. Brian A. Brown, gives a sense of how worship is enriched by these beautiful windows.

Following World War II the church received many more gifts - new communion table and its setting, new hymn boards, a chalice and paten for the communion service and a new tablet, a companion one to that of World War I, remembering those who served their country so well.

Three pulpit bibles have been given to the church, an early one being the King James Version used for more than 70 years. More recently, two bibles are memorial gifts of the Agnew and Bere families . The brass candlesticks, given by the Capel family , the brass cross by Indira and Judd Sinton-Brown on the occasion of their wedding in Division Street Church, the sanctuary piano by the Alex Smith family , the large wrought iron candelabra given by the UCW, the flower stand made by Ernie Kuhn , (an exact copy of its mate) the Canadian and Christian flags and a plaque honouring the ministry of Rev. John Sommerville MA, DD. add beauty and meaning to our place of worship. Still more gifts enhance the church building and church property. Furniture in the Parlour, the collection of paintings, the decoration and equipping of the Nursery and the furnishings in the Memory Room, add to the comfort of these gathering rooms. Pianos in the auditorium, Memory Room and Parlour, the many lovely pieces of silver tea services, the Chinese hanging, a tribute to Dr. Jean Dow, the podiums and lectern for use during meetings and the pew bench at the parking lot entrance are often used and admired by members of the congregation and visitors. Outside the building itself the cross over the north entrance to the Christian Education Building, the church signs and the foundation plantings along the south wall, are all gifts to the church.

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