PARKDALE UNITED CHURCH – FIRST 85 YEARS
Parkdale United Church, a Christian landmark located in the central west end of Canada’s capital city, has a rich history as a centre of biblical and spiritual teaching and learning that dates back to 1931, when it was founded through a merger of two then-existing Presbyterian and Methodist churches.
Although our history as a formal United Church congregation spans 85 years, our roots as a pioneering family of faith go back to 1889, when a small group of Presbyterians in the community of Hintonburg (which was annexed to the city of Ottawa in 1907) established a mission. The following year they erected a small worship building at a cost of $2,600 on what is now the southwest corner of Parkdale Avenue and Wellington Street. The congregation was created formally in September 1892 as Bethany Presbyterian Church, and a new brick/stone church building was erected in 1911 (at a cost of $26,794) on what is now the corner of Gladstone and Parkdale avenues. When the United Church of Canada was created in 1925, Bethany changed its name to Bethany United Church and became part of the new United Church organization.
Meanwhile, a Methodist Mission had been established in the Hintonburg area in 1893, when a small frame building was erected that year – at a cost of $1,300 - on Kate Street (later renamed Rosemount Avenue). Opening services of Rosemount Methodist Church were conducted in 1895. In 1900, a lot was added to the north side of the church property; and, some time later, land was purchased on which the Ottawa West End Library on Rosemount Avenue now stands. Another building on Fairmount Avenue was purchased in 1910 for use as a parsonage, and a new church building was completed in 1916 at a cost of $25,000. Like their Bethany cousins, Rosemount also joined the national United Church of Canada in June 1925.
In 1930, both Bethany and Rosemount decided to pool their resources and combine into a single congregation under the new United Church banner. The Bethany building at Parkdale Avenue and Bethany Road, which by then had been renamed Gladstone Avenue, was considered to be best-suited as the central home for the new church. Renovations and expansion were undertaken at a cost of approximately $52,000, which effectively doubled the size of the existing sanctuary. The renovations included removing and extending the east wall of the original building by 36 feet, reusing salvaged brick, matching the stone masonry of the lower level, copying the design of windows and doors, and respecting the cornice lines.
The modernization also included the installation of a Woodstock pipe organ at a cost of $11,000. This first organ was replaced in 1982 at a cost of $120,000. It included a Rogers hybrid electronic/wind instrument incorporating some of the principal ranks of the original windpipes with a three-manual, 75-stop console and more than 800 pipes. At the time of installation, it was the first of its kind in eastern Ontario.
During the work on the late Gothic Revival structure, which took more than a year, the new united congregation operated from the Rosemount church building.
The cornerstone for the new Parkdale United Church, laid in September 1931, is but one of the five that mark our history and denominational roots. Another three were for the Hintonburg Methodist (1903), Bethany Presbyterian (1911), and Rosemount Methodist (1916) churches. These are embedded in the exterior of the north wall of the sanctuary. The fifth cornerstone is located at the entrance to the Memorial Hall, dedicated in 1951 to honour the service of 394 Parkdale members who had served in uniform in World Wars I and II, including 19 who lost their lives.
The formal dedication service of the new combined Parkdale congregation was held on January 29, 1932. The inaugural membership totaled 839, representing 359 families. The new congregation was faced with a carry-over debt of more than $50,000, but during the next 14 years it was paid completely and the mortgage was burned in March 1945. By comparison, the existing Parkdale complex has a replacement value of almost $5 million.
The formation of the new amalgamated congregation involved decisions regarding the selection of a minister. By coincidence, Rosemount’s minister had recently accepted another position and had transferred to the Montreal Presbytery. At the same time, Bethany had a vacancy in its pulpit, but it had postponed filling it in view of the impending church merger. Consequently, the process of recruiting and staffing became relatively straightforward. A committee was created to invite ministers to “preach for a call” to the new congregation. This resulted in Reverend Norman Coll – 36 years old at the time – being selected, and he was inducted formally at a ceremony on September 17, 1931. Dr. Coll went on to serve as Parkdale’s minister for the next 30 years, excepting six years on leave as an overseas Canadian Army chaplain during World War II.
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