Before Canada became a country and before the railway was established in the area, a little village named Douglas, nestled in a valley by a river, was in need of a church.
Fast-forward 160 years to the present, that church still stands. Canada is set to celebrate its 150th year in 2017, the village is now called Belwood, and the Elora to Cataract railway has come and gone.
Yet the little stone building, St. John’s United Church, still stands.
In 1854, the residents of the area looked to build their own church after years of holding service in people’s homes or walking to Fergus. A church was built and dedicated in 1856. Years later the congregation outgrew it and erected a stone building in 1872.
The stone church has remained relatively unchanged over the years, though the whole building was raised to construct a basement, the windows were replaced with stained glass, floors and pews were replaced and the belfry was repaired.
The original bell still hangs in the belfry and is rung before church service.
Lastly, a recently-built annex has allowed the building to be fully accessible and to offer meeting rooms and Sunday school rooms.
Like many buildings of this age, the church stands as a testament to the small community that thrived alongside it.
“The church is not a building, we always say,” said Reverend Kate Gregory, the current minister.
Gregory, who is from Cornwall, became minister nine years ago. She saw an ad in the church’s magazine, which called for a reverend who could “preach a reasonable sermon” at a church “nestled in a little valley by a lake.”
She said the ad caught her eye.
St. John’s changed to a United Church in 1925 from a Presbyterian denomination. Church itself has changed over the years, said Gregory.
A music tradition
Gregory added that music is a strong tradition in the church, although it wasn’t always.
“There was no organ allowed in the Presbyterian church; they thought it was the work of the devil or something and so all the singing was done a cappella and they had a cantor to lead the singing, not a choir and they had just a tuning fork,” said Gregory.
Church members actually found a tuning fork when the floors and pews were replaced. It now hangs on the wall with a plaque recognizing the owner, cantor James Matheson.
When the congregation brought in its first organ in 1878, many members left.
Now, music is a part of every service.
“One of our organists brought this idea in that our children for at least one hymn on Sunday get these rhythm instruments and they bang away at them for a song and they absolutely love this. They look forward to it,” said Gregory.
Members of the church have performed four musicals so far; each one packed the church. Another one is planned for next spring.
Small community
While the congregation has been shrinking, the church remains an icon in the community.
“On Sunday we run about 60 (people) most days, so it’s gone down,” said Gregory.
“The younger people, we’re trying to find out (why), aren’t interesting in this traditional worship.”
Gregory along with congregation member Sheila Johnson decided to make the church’s 160th year a special one.
“This community event we’re putting on is really one of those things we are doing for the community,” said Gregory.
“It’s very exciting that it’s going to be open for the whole community and we hope it interests the whole community to come down to the park and see what’s going on. We hope to highlight the church and the church history … and the church at present.”
Johnson said she wants to put on the event because “it’s the 160th anniversary of the church and to put the church as a landmark … put it on the map.”
Both women want to remind people that the church is still very involved in the community.
“A hundred and sixty years ago, it was the only place that people would assemble, and everybody would always go twice on Sunday,” said Gregory.
“Everybody went. There was no Sports, there was no TV, there were no movies to go to, there were no video games, so you met people at church … They had one other thing in Belwood which was a Saturday night dance, and apparently it was equally as popular, but it didn’t mean that anybody would miss church.”
Anniversary celebration
The event, a garage sale, is held every year. This year however, it was Johnson’s idea to make a big deal of it. The church will also host a bake sale and offer refreshments, music and a balloon artist.
“We are becoming more aware that we need to virtually take the walls off the church and be out there. We can’t just hide away in here… We could, but that’s not going to last, then we’re not doing the work of Christ if we just serve ourselves and keep ourselves comfortable on our own comfortable pews, we need to be out there,” said Gregory.
“It’s a non-threatening way of getting people to come meet the church.”
The 160th anniversary celebration runs from 8am to 2:30pm on June 11 at the Belwood Hall (across the street from the church).
The event is free and organizers are encouraging anyone to attend.
