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People and organizations
Brown, H. Blair, [194-?]-
Person · [194-?]-

H. Blair Brown was the Vancouver delegate for the National YPU Council in 1956. He was President of the Vancouver Presbytery YPU from 1957-1958. He also served as the Chairman for the YPU Reunion Committee in 1966.

Person · 1880-1956

J.G. Brown was born September 6, 1880 in Lakefield, Ontario. He received his university and theological education in Toronto at Victoria College. He was ordained by the Bay of Quinte Conference of the Methodist Church in 1908. After a few years in pastoral work in Ontario, he came to British Columbia in 1912 and ministered at Enderby and Vancouver (including Turner Institute, Ryerson, and Kitsilano Methodist congregations). He was appointed Principal of the newly chartered Ryerson Theological College in 1923. When, in 1927, Ryerson College and Westminster Hall were merged (following church union), Brown became the first Principal of Union College of British Columbia, affiliated with UBC. Under his administration, the main Union College buildings on campus were erected. He had the task of guiding the College through the Depression and then through World War II. Principal Brown also served as President of BC Conference of The United Church of Canada, 1936-1937. After his retirement in 1948, he lived for three years in Oxford, England, until his return to British Columbia, where he assumed the pastorate of the Church of Our Lord in Victoria. J.G. Brown died October 15, 1956.

Brown, James, 1856-1932
Person · 1856-1932

James A. Brown (1856-1932) served forty years as minister for the Presbyterian Church for the following charges: Belmont, Agincourt, Shakespeare, Fergus and Ingersoll.

Person · 1887-1978

Margaret H. Brown, (1887-1956) had a distinguished teaching, writing, and publishing career in Shanghai, Hong Kong and West China. She was born in Tiverton, Ontario, in 1887. She taught for about four years before being appointed by the Presbyterian Church in Canada to teach in China. She held the degrees M.A. and B.Paed., retired in 1956, and died in 1978.

Bryant, Cornelius, 1838-1905
Person · 1838-1905

Cornelius Bryant (1838-1905) was a teacher, minister and pioneer of Methodism in British Columbia. Born in England in 1838, he moved to Nanaimo, B.C. in 1858. He taught at Colonial School, and also conducted Sunday services, Sunday School, and the Band of Hope (first temperance society on the West Coast). In 1870 he became a probationer for Methodist ministry, and was ordained in 1874. He served several missions in British Columbia, and was President of B.C. Conference in 1890. He died in 1905.

Person · 1890-1967

Lucy Winifred Bryce (1890-1967) was a missionary to India, first with the Presbyterian Church in Canada, then after 1925 The United Church of Canada. Lucy Robinson was born in 1890 in Tokyo. Her parents, the Rev. and Mrs. J. Cooper Robinson, were missionaries in Japan of the Church of England in Canada. She was educated at Havergal College, Toronto; the Ottawa Collegiate Institute (Lisgar Collegiate, Ottawa); and the University of Toronto (B.A. 1911). She taught in Westminster College, Toronto (1911-1912), and in 1912-1913 served as a Student Volunteer Movement Secretary. In 1913 she married George Pardon Bryce, a Knox College student who was licensed by the Presbytery of Columbia in 1914 and ordained in 1915 by the Presbytery of Malwa, India, where he and his wife had been appointed as missionaries. Winifred Bryce received her M.A. (1928) and her Ph.D. (1937) from the University of Toronto; her doctoral dissertation was "The Changing Family in India." For many years she was on the staff of the Indore Christian College and was actively involved in producing Christian literature in India. She was the author of several books and served for six years as Secretary of the National Christian Council of India. The Bryces returned to Canada in 1953. George Pardon Bryce died in 1957. In 1959 Winifred Bryce returned to Indore College, where she remained until 1962. She died on 1967 November 1.

Bryce, Peter, 1877-1950
Person · 1877-1950

Peter Bryce (1877-1950) was a Methodist/United Church minister, administrator and Moderator. He was born in Scotland in 1877. He did mission work in Newfoundland in 1903; in 1906 he moved to Toronto and Victoria University. He was active in Earlscourt and other Sunday School and urban mission work. He later served as Secretary of Missionary and Maintenance (1927-1936), Moderator (1936-1938), and Minister at Metropolitan United Church in Toronto (1938-1950). He died in 1950.

Buchanan, Evelyn G., b.1886
Person · b.1886

Mary Evelyn Greig Buchanan (b.1886) was a teacher, and a missionary to China and India. She was born in Levis, Quebec, and taught public school in Montreal and Lethbridge for thirteen years. She also spent seven years teaching primary school in Canton, China, arriving in 1922. She was appointed to Honan, China, by the Board of Foreign Missions in 1934 to teach school. She also served in India from 1946, returning to Canada in 1951.

Buchanan, John J.
Person

John J. Buchanan was one of the early converts and workers of the Gospel Workers in Grey County, Ontario. He attended the earliest conferences of the group, but in 1905 he stated his feeling that he had been mistaken in his call to preach, and his name was struck from the Gospel Workers conference record.

Bula, Omega, d. 2023
Person · d. 2023

Omega Chilufya Bula (d. 2023) was a long-time staff member of the General Council Office of The United Church of Canada. She served in the Division of World Outreach as Area Secretary for Southern Africa and Gender Justice, as the first-ever Racial Justice Minister, and as Executive Minister of the former Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations (JGER) and Partners in Mission Units (PIM). Her commitment to partnership led to the formation of the Partner Council, and was instrumental in shaping the Principles of Global Partnership that guide the global partnership program of The United Church of Canada today. She was also a integral member of the Roundtable for Specialized Ministries. Bula was also involved with other ecumenical programs. She was involved with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management for an Economy of Life, and the Ecumenical Panel on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture. She worked with the All Africa Council of Churches as program executive of the Women's Desk and educated women across the continent on the adverse negative impact of structural adjustment programs imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s. She developed videos on women, economic justice, and empowerment to mitigate against injustices experienced by African women. She also gathered women to listen and learn together how to practice life-affirming strategies and tactics. Upon retirement, she established a sustainable farm and guesthouse, providing educational and entrepreneurial support for members of her community, and worked with members of her church in Zambia and Canada to host a two-week children's camp in August, dubbed "Camp Chipembi." Omega passed away in 2023.

Person

William Alfred Bunner (1861-1943) was a shoemaker and a Methodist minister in Ontario. He worked as a shoemaker for several years until he offered himself as a candidate for ministry in the Methodist Church in 1889. He was ordained in 1893 and served the following charges: Minden, Myrtle, Ameliasburg, Castleton, Norham, Salem, Atterley, Trenton, Yarker, Welcome and Pickering. In 1893 he married Elizabeth Leavens.

Burdick, Caleb, 1786-1858
Person

Malahide Wesleyan Methodist Circuit included Malahide, Yarmouth Township, Dunboyne, Luton, Copenhagen and Mount Salem

Burgess, Frank, 1883-1961
Person · 1883-1961

Frank Burgess (1883-1961) was a Methodist/United Chruch minister in Ontario. Born in Elgin County, he began a teaching career, but returned to school to train for the ministry and was ordained in 1921. All of his pastoral work was in Ontario and in 1951, he retired to the village of Union. In 1914, he married Olive May Size. Of their four children, two of their sons later became United Church ministers: Rev. Harold Neal Burgess and Rev. Gorden Burgess.

Person · 1884-1958

William Henry Burgess (1884-1958) was a Presbyterian/United Church minister in Ontario. He was born in Tillsbury East, Ontario, and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1912. He married Laura Mabel Adams in 1912 and served in the Logger's Mission on the Pacific Coast from 1912-1914. He served at the St. Paul's Charge, Harwich, Ont., 1914-1918; Pastor Knox Church, Walkerton, 1918-1924; as United Church minister at Non-Anglo Saxon Church, Hamilton, 1925-1926; St. Christopher and All People's Church, Hamilton, 1926-1933; Queen Street Church, Toronto, 1934-1941; Mount Albert, 1942-1948; and Bracebridge, 1948 until he retired in 1952. His first wife, Laura, died in 1930 and in 1931 he married Vina Maude Mounce.

Person

Albert Carman Burley (1882-1956), was a Methodist/United Church minister in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Born in Meaford, Ontario, in 1882, he was educated at Wesley and Victoria Colleges and ordained in 1912. He retired in 1956, and died in 1972.

Person · 1926-2006

Rev. William Lemuel ("Lem") Burnham was born in Summerberry, Saskatchewan. He moved to Vancouver in 1945 and studied theology (Union College) and social work (University of British Columbia). He was ordained by BC Conference in 1954. From 1955 to 1973, Burnham studied and worked in Hong Kong. He returned to Vancouver in 1974 and served the Chinese United Church until his retirement in 1985.

Burnside, Albert, 1917-
Person · 1917-

Albert Burnside (1917-) was a Methodist/United Church minister in Britain and Canada. Born in England, he was ordained in 1946 as a minister of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. He was received into the ministry of The United Church of Canada by the London Conference of the United Church in 1955. He served at St. Enoch's in Toronto from 1956-1959, Victoria Village from 1960-1963, and Edith Rankin Memorial in Kingston from 1974-1980. In 1968 he obtained his Dr. Th.D. from the University of Victoria.

Person · 1884-1958

Robert Knox Burnside (1884-1958) was a Methodist/United Church minister in Ontario. He was born in Ireland and, although he attended Victoria College, he was ordained as a Methodist minister in England in 1918 after serving overseas with a tank battalion. He married Maude Mary Gray in 1918. He served at Webbwood, Ontario, 1919-1922; Mansfield, 1923-1926; Mono Mills, 1927-1931; Bruce Mines, 1931-1935; Sprucedale, 1935-1937; and Holland Centre, 1937-1941.

Burrows, Joan Fidler, 1936-
Person · 1936-

Joan Burrows (nee Fidler) was born at Toronto to the Rev. Frank and Marguerite Fidler. She grew up in the United Church and married the Rev. Bob Burrows in 1959. She and Bob moved to the BC coast, where she led the Ocean Falls and Alert Bay CGIT, taught Sunday school at First United Church (Vancouver), served as Chair of the Native Affairs Committee of BC Conference, and participated on several theological education committees.

Person · 1934-

Bob Burrows was born on September 1, 1934 in Scarboro, Ontario. He graduated from Victoria College (BA, 1956) and Emmanuel College (M.Div, 1959) in Toronto and was ordained by Toronto Conference in 1959. Bob and his wife Joan moved to the British Columbia coast in 1960. He served the United Church Marine Missions as minister and captain of the United Church mission ship, the Thomas Crosby IV, based at Ocean Falls. After two years, the Board of Home Missions transferred him to Alert Bay where he continued mission work to coastal communities with the float plane “George Pringle.” In 1966, Bob was appointed Assistant Superintendent of First United Church in Vancouver; he became Superintendent/Minister in 1968 and continued his ministry there until 1974.

From First United, Bob moved to the public sector to work for the BC Police Commission (1974-1978); the United Way of Greater Vancouver (1978-1980); and the Federal Secretary of State Department as Social Development Officer (1980-1984). He returned to the pastorate and served at Shaughnessy Heights United Church, Vancouver (1984-1986); Wilson Heights, Vancouver (1986-1990); St. David's, West Vancouver (1990-1999); and Capilano, North Vancouver (2000-2003). In 2007, Bob returned to First United Church, initially as a minister at the mission and then as Director of Fund Development (2008-2010). In the wider church, Bob served as President of BC Conference (1989-1990); Chair of the national United Church committee responsible for mission hospitals (1981-1984); and as a member of numerous committees and boards. He has written two books pertaining to United Church history: Healing in the Wilderness (2004), the story of the United Church Mission Hospitals across the country, and Hope Lives Here (2010), the 125-year history of First United Church in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Person · 1873-1951

Edward Moore Jackson Burwash (1873-1951) was a geologist, educator and Methodist minister. The son of Nathanael Burwash, he was born in Cobourg, Ontario and received his B.A. from Victoria University, his M.A. (Geology) from the University of Toronto, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1915. He studied the sciences and law, worked as a field geologist for government and business, served as a Methodist minister in the late 1890s, taught at Columbian College (which became the University of British Columbia) from 1905 to 1910, served as chaplain overseas during World War I, and taught at the Universities of Manitoba and British Columbia during the 1920s. He worked for the Ontario Department of Mines in the 1930s, and retired in 1938. He died in 1951.

Person

Nathanael Burwash (1839-1918) was born in St. Andrews, Quebec, in 1839 and entered Victoria College, Cobourg as a prepatory student in 1852, graduating in 1859 after an interruption to allow his younger brother the funds to enrol. He was ordained in 1864 and continued his education at Yale (Science) and Garrett Biblical Institute of Evanston, Illinois (Theology) and received his M.A. from Victoria in 1866. Burwash began his teaching career at Victoria lecturing in the natural sciences and in 1871 began teaching theology as well as science courses - two years later he was appointed Dean of the new Faculty of Theology and in 1877 helped set up the Theological Union of Victoria, an organization designed as a postgraduate extension of theological study. In 1887 Burwash was named Chancellor and President - he held these positions until 1913, and continued to teach doctrinal history until his death in 1918.

Buttars, Mel, 1911-2000
Person · 1911-2000

David Melville “Mel” John Buttars (1911-2000) was a United Church minister. He was born in Cobourg, Ontario in 1911 to Lillian Gray and David Buttars. He graduated from Queen’s University with a B.A. in 1936, a B.D. from Queen’s Theological College in 1939, Union Theological Seminary in 1941 and received a D.D. from Queen’s University in 1978. He was ordained in 1939 in Kingston and served for fifty-seven years at the following charges: Grananoque East, Bloomfield, Inglewood, Pickering, Albert St., Oshawa and Cobourg. He also held the following positions: Chairman of the Oshawa Presbytery, Secretary of the Dufferin and Peel Presbytery, President of the Bay of Quinte Conference, Member of the Home Mission Board, Evangelism and Social Service and other various committees including Amnesty International. He also worked a Chinese translator for the Government of Canada. He married Honor in 1939 and had three children John, Ian and Barbara.

Person

John Duncan Byrnes (1869-1935) was a Presbyterian/United Church minister and administrator. He was born in Cumberland, Ontario, and educated at Queen's University (B.A. 1898, D.D. 1901). He was ordained in 1901 and served in Presbyterian churches in northern Ontario, including Gore Bay and Cobalt. He was Superintendent of Home Missions for Northern Ontario from 1910 until his retirement in 1929. In this capacity he was anxious to bring religious and social services to the new Canadians of 'New' Ontario, the Finnish, Russians, Italians and other European immigrants who worked the mines and built the railways of the region.

Person · 1845-1931

Alexander Cameron (1845-1931) was a Presbyterian minister. He was born in Nova Scotia and educated at Dalhousie University and Queen's University, where he studied theology. He was ordained by Ottawa Presbytery in 1874 and served as missionary to CPR construction camps, first between Winnipeg and and Fort William (1878-1885), and then between Revelstoke and Calgary (1885-1902). He served other charges in B.C. until retiring in 1915.

Person · 1869-1951

Elizabeth B. Campbell (1869-1951) was a missionary. She was born in Duntroon, Ontario and trained as a teacher. She started serving in Angola in 1900 under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. After taking a leave of absence for a few years she returned in 1920 under the Canada Congregational Women’s Board of Missions. While under the American Board she worked at Elende and Chilesso and while under the Canadian Board worked at Chissamba (1920-1927) teaching Household Sciences courses; at Camundongo (1930-1933) she taught at the Vocational School for Girls.

She retired in Toronto in 1934 and died in 1951.

Person · 1845-1942

J. Fraser Campbell (1845-1942) was a Presbyterian/United Church missionary to India. He was born in Cape Breton and in 1876, Dr. Campbell was appointed a missionary to India by the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Madras was his first mission, followed by Mhow. In 1885, he opened the mission in Ratlam, serving there until his death in 1942. Dr. Campbell was married in 1879 to Mary Forrester, whom he met in India where she was sent by the Women's Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in Canada

Campbell, Robert, 1835-1921
Person · 1835-1921

Robert Campbell (1835-1921) was a Presbyterian minister. He was born in Drummond Township, Lanark County, Ontario and educated at Queen's University. He served as Headmaster of Queen's Preparatory School, and in 1860, was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Bathurst of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in connexion with the Church of Scotland. Rev. Campbell was ordained in 1862, and in 1866 moved to St. Gabriel St. Church in Montreal. He was actively involved in Presbyterian union. In 1892 he was appointed one of the Joint Clerks of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He was long a trustee of Queen's University, which awarded him a D.D. in 1887. Robert Campbell was a consistent opponent of union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches in Canada, basing his opposition on doctrinal positions. He wrote two books: History of St. Gabriel St. Church, Montreal (1887), and Relations of Christian Churches (1913). He retired from St. Gabriel in 1909, when it merged with Chalmers Church to form First Presbyterian Church, Montreal.

Cantwell, Jordan, 1967-
Person · 1967-

Jordan Cantwell was born in New York in 1967; as a child her parents moved to the Canadian Prairies. She was involved with social justice movements in the 1980s and the United Church of Canada sent her to South Africa in 1993 as an Observer through the World Council of Churches. She officially joined the United Church in the late 1990s, and prior to being ordained worked at The Centre for Christian Studies when it first moved to Winnipeg. She also worked as a staff associate at Augustine United where she served the Oak Table outreach ministry. She earned her Master of Divinity at St. Andrew’s College, and was ordained in 2010. She interned at Delisle-Vanscoy United Church, and served there for seven years before becoming elected as Moderator in 2015. Cantwell’s spouse, Laura Fouhse is a diaconal minister in the United Church. Cantwell served as Moderator from 2015-2018.

Carey, E. Frank, 1918-
Person · 1918-

Edward Francis Carey served as an ordained United Church missionary and administrator. He was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1918. He received his B.A. from McGill University in 1941 and served in the armed forces during World War II. After returning to Canada in 1945 he entered United Theological College (Montreal) and was ordained and appointed to Japan in 1947. He obtained the Master of Divinity from Acadia College in 1960 and Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) from United Theological College in 1972. He was Associate Secretary of the Board of World Mission which later became the Division of World Outreach, 1964-1978, and Deputy Secretary, 1979-1984.

Carman, Albert, 1833-1917
Person · 1833-1917

Albert Carman (1833-1917) was a Methodist minister and leader. He was born in Iroquois, Ontario, in 1833. He entered the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada as a probationer in 1857; was ordained a Deacon in 1859; and became an Elder in 1863 and a Bishop in 1874. At the time of Methodist union he was elected one of the General Superintendents of the new Methodist Church (Canada). He retired in 1914 and was made General Superintendent Emeritus, and died in 1917.

Carroll, John, 1809-1884
Person · 1809-1884

John Carroll (1809-1884) was a Methodist minister and historian. Born in York, he converted in 1824, and entered the ministry in 1827. He served Ontario circuits, and is best known as a chronicler of the denomination. He wrote several important works, including Case and His Co-Temporaries. He died in 1884.

Person

Martha Cartmell (1846-1945) was a Methodist/United Church missionary to Japan and to the Oriental Mission in Victoria. She was educated in Hamilton and Toronto; in 1882 she went to Japan as a Methodist Woman's Missionary Society missionary. Because of poor health she returned to Canada in 1887, working in the Oriental Mission in Victoria, B.C. from 1890 to 1892 before returning to Japan for four years. Before retiring in 1898 she worked two more years at the Victoria mission. Elizabeth Strachan (1841-1931) held the office of Corresponding Secretary of the Methodist Woman's Missionary Society for forty-three years.

Case, William, 1780-1855
Person · 1780-1855

William Case (1780-1855) was a Methodist minister and administrator. He was born in Massachusetts, moved to New York and converted in 1803, and was ordained in New York in 1808. He began work that year in the Bay of Quinte. He was Superintendent of Indian Missions in 1828, and General Superintendent and missionary to the Aboriginal Peoples for the remainder of his service.

Chalmers, Thomas, d. 1847
Person

Thomas Chalmers (d. 1847) was a Presbyterian minister and a Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He led the Free Church group in its secession from the established Church of Scotland in 1843.

Chan, Agnes, 1906-1962
Person · 1906-1962

Agnes Chan (Ah Fung) was born in China. She came to Victoria, B.C., as a youth, and entered the Oriental Home and School. The Women's Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church provided financial support for her to attend the Women's College Hospital in Toronto, from which she graduated in 1923. Agnes Chan moved to Foshan, China, where she was appointed Assistant Matron, then Superintendent of Nurses at the Wesleyan Methodist Girls' School hospital (1924-1938). This was followed by several years working at an orphanage in Wuchow.

Chan, Phoebe, 1867-1952
Person · 1867-1952

Phoebe Chan came to Canada in about 1900 to join her brother, Rev. Yu Tan Chan, who served as lay preacher at the Chinese Methodist Church in Vancouver. Because of her experience in a mission school in China, she was engaged by the Woman's Missionary Society as Kindergarten Assistant and Bible Teacher at the church. She spent about 35 years teaching and providing pastoral care within the Chinese community, through the Methodist and United Churches. Following an accident in about 1942, Phoebe Chan retired as kindergarten teacher at the age of 72. She died in 1953, in her 84th year.

Chan, Sing Kai, 1854-1952
Person · 1854-1952

陳星階 CHAN Sing Kai grew up in a Christian household in China and was instrumental in establishing the Wesley Methodist Mission School in Hong Kong. He was invited by the Methodist Church of Canada to serve as lay preacher at Vancouver's first Chinese congregation in 1888. Chan was ordained in 1891 (the first person of Chinese descent to be ordained in the Methodist Church of Canada). After Vancouver, he served Chinese congregations in New Westminster and Victoria before moving to the United States for health reasons. His ministry continued in Oregon and California, where he died.

Chan, Yu Tan, 1863-1948
Person · 1863-1948

陳燿檀 CHAN Yu Tan was born and raised in China, where he grew up in a Christian family. He and his brother, CHAN Sing Kai, were instrumental in establishing the Wesleyan Mission School in Hong Kong. He arrived in Canada eight years after his brother, in 1896, serving as a lay preacher at the Chinese Methodist Church in Vancouver until 1906. This was followed by pastorates in Victoria, Nanaimo, and New Westminster. CHAN Yu Tan was ordained within the Methodist Church in 1923, and continued in ministry within The United Church of Canada after 1925 when it was formed through an amalgamation of the Methodist Church and other denominations.

Person · 1866-1948

William Newton Chantler (1866-1948) was a Methodist/United minister. He was born in West Essa, Ontario, and was educated at Wesley Theological College, Montreal, and was ordained in 1890. He served in Methodist and United Churches in Montreal and Toronto Conferences: Bathurst Street (1925-1926), Dixie (1927-1931), and did retired ministry in Toronto from 1932-1937.