Below the escarpment in Dundas, the Presbyterians held their services at a number of locations – the non-denominational Free Church built in 1826, St. Andrew’s built in 1837 and the Blue Stone Church erected in 1846. A year later, Knox Church, which has “outlived all its rivals and still serves as the Presbyterian stronghold in the Valley Town” was dedicated.
To the west, the 1830s saw the arrival of Presbyterian minister, Rev. George Cheyne from Aberdeenshire. Described as a “faithful missionary,” he organized a congregation in Binbrook, which acquired a permanent building by 1843 and another one at Mount Albion in 1844. Like Rev. Thomas Christie in Flamborough, he travelled constantly until his death in 1878.”
Just as the Presbyterians appeared to be gaining strength in their “fight with the Methodists for the hearts and souls of the new immigrants,” they too faced dissension within their ranks. The Great Disruption that occurred within the Church of Scotland in 1844 was soon felt at the Head-of-the-Lake, with small groups in sympathy with those in Scotland who resented state interference in religion.
As the reasons for the disruption became clearer, Rev. Gale of Hamilton and Rev. Stark of Ancaster and Dundas took leading parts in discussing the effects this had on the Canadian church. On July 10, 1844, Reverends Gale, Stark and Cheyne walked out of the Church of Scotland Synod being held in Kingston and formed a “Free Protesting Church of Scotland” which ultimately resulted in some communities splitting and erecting a second church.
Despite this schism, Presbyterians continued to exert a powerful influence through their ministers and the strictness of their theology. In 1875, the two divisions resolved their differences and united to form the Presbyterian Church of Canada. In communities like Waterdown, where there had been sufficient support for two congregations, they agreed to merge. The St. Andrew’s congregation, which had worshipped in a large wooden barn-like structure on Main Street North, voted for the sale of their building and its surrounding property to the village doctor, John Owen McGregor, and moved to worship in the small, but more practical stone building of Knox Church on Mill Street North.
The monies raised by the sale almost certainly helped to finance the magnificent red brick addition that Knox Church was later able to erect to house its larger congregation.
Sylvia Wray is the former archivist with the Flamborough Archives. She can be reached through the Archives at archives@flamboroughhistory.com.
This article was originally published in the Flamborough Review, 12 May 2016.
