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The Rev. William Jenkins was one of the first Presbyterian ministers in Upper Canada. Born on September 26, 1779 in Kirriemuir, Scotland, Jenkins studied at the University of Edinburgh with the intention of becoming a minister in the Associate Synod of the Secession Church in Scotland, but left before he graduated.

In 1799, Jenkins immigrated to New York, where he continued his theological studies in connection with the Associate Reformed Presbytery of Saratoga, with noted proficiency in Hebrew and Greek. He was licensed to preach and ordained in 1807, and called as a missionary to the Onyota'a:ka, or Oneida, in Oneida Castle. He would remain here until 1816 when, following the death of Onyota'a:ka Chief John Skenandoa, he was sent to minister to various communities in Upper Canada. He made enough of an impression on the residents of Richmond Hill that they petitioned the Presbytery of Saratoga to have him as their permanent minister. Jenkins moved to Markham Township in 1817 and purchased a 200 acre farm near Cashel.

Upon his arrival, Jenkins was the only Presbyterian minister in Upper Canada. As a result, his itinerant ministry took him as far west as the Grand River and as far east as the Bay of Quinte, although he was primarily based out of Richmond Hill and Scarborough. Because he was one of the few outside of the Anglican Church who was allowed to perform marriages, he regularly married Methodists, Baptists, Mennonites, and Quakers.

More Presbyterian ministers started to arrive after Jenkins. In 1818 the Presbytery of the Canadas was formed, which he joined in 1819 after being released by the Presbytery of Saratoga. In 1825, it was dissolved and replaced with the United Synod of Upper Canada. However, it eventually entered into union with the Church of Scotland and agreed to accept money from the clergy reserves. As a voluntarist, Jenkins believed this linked it too closely to the British state, which he viewed as tyrannical and oppressive, and he left in 1834. He was admitted into the Missionary Presbytery of the Canadas in 1837, which was linked to the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church of Scotland and therefore not formally connected to the state in any way.

Jenkins was politically active against the Family Compact and the government of Upper Canada, frequently speaking out and denouncing them from the pulpit. He was a founding member of the Friends of Religious Liberty, a group formally opposed to the actions of the government. While he never formally joining, he was sympathetic to William Lyon Mackenzie's 1837 rebellion. Jenkins' son, who did join the rebellion, was forced to flee to the United States with Mackenzie upon its failure.

Jenkins was married in Scotland to Jane Forrest, but she died before he emigrated. He met and married Mary Hatfield Stockton while in Oneida Castle. Together they would have eleven children, nine of whom survived into adulthood. After a prolonged illness that gradually restricted his ability to continue his itinerant ministry, Jenkins died on September 25, 1843 at the age of 63.

John Neil Hospital was located in Cold Lake, Alberta. Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) medical work was first begun by the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1921, when a building was rented for hospital use and church services. In 1925 the medical work at Cold Lake became the responsibility of the WMS of The United Church of Canada. John Neil Hospital was opened in July 1926 through church and community funding by the WMS. It was a 10-bed hospital and named after a former minister of Westminster-Central Church in Toronto which donated much of the funds for the building. A new, larger hospital was opened on July 8, 1958.

Charles Julius Pasmore Jolliffe (1876-1965) was a Methodist/United Church missionary to China in the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in 1876 in Paisley, Ontario. In 1883, he moved with his family to Rockwood where he farmed with his father until the age of nineteen. He attended Victoria University, where he became interested in the Student Volunteer Movement, and graduated in 1904. The same year that he was ordained by the Methodist Church, 1906, he also married Gertrude Bigelow, and they went to China together as missionaries. Rev. and Mrs. Jolliffe opened the Canadian Methodist station at Luchow. From 1922 to 1937, Rev. Jolliffe was in charge of the station at Jenshow. During this period, he also taught for a few months at a United Church college in Japan and served for two years as minister at Erin and Hillsburgh, Ontario. In 1937, they returned to Canada, serving at Glen Williams, Barton Stone-Trinity and Ponsonby. After retirement, they returned to Rockwood where he died in 1965. The Jolliffes had five children: Edward, Aimee, Richard, Paul and Frances.

Gertrude Bigelow Jolliffe (b. 1881) was a missionary to China. She married Charles Julius Pasmore Jolliffe in 1906 and they went to China together. Rev. and Mrs. Jolliffe opened the Canadian Methodist station at Luchow. From 1922 to 1937, Rev. Jolliffe was in charge of the station at Jenshow. During this period, he also taught for a few months at a United Church college in Japan and served for two years as minister at Erin and Hillsburgh, Ontario. In 1937, they returned to Canada.

Lena M. Dunfield, later Jolliffe (1879-1974) was a missionary to China with the Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church of Canada. She married Richard Orlando Jolliffe in 1905, and together they pioneered missions in the salt wells area of Tzeliutsing. They also produced a large volume of Christian literature and the monthly magazine, Christian Hope. They retired in 1945 to Rockwood, Ontario.

Richard Orlando Jolliffe (1874-1959) was a Methodist/United Church missionary to China in the first half of the twentieth century. Richard Jolliffe was born in Bruce County, Ontario, in 1874. He studied at Victoria University, and served briefly in Alberta for the Methodist Home Missions Board, 1903-1904. He was appointed to the West China Mission in 1904. He married Lena Dunfield, a Woman's Missionary Society missionary in China, in 1905. Together they pioneered missions in the salt wells area of Tzeliutsing. In 1922, Richard Jolliffe was appointed to work for the Mission Press in Chengtu. He and his wife produced a large volume of Christian literature and the monthly magazine Christian Hope. They retired in 1945 to Rockwood, Ontario. Richard Jolliffe died in 1959, Lena Jolliffe in 1976.

Moderator of the United Church of Canada, 1946-1948

The Katherine H. Prittie Hospital (also known as Bonnyville General Hospital) was located in Bonnyville, Alberta. The hospital was initially held in the farm house of Rev. Dr. John E. Duclos with support of The Woman's Missionary Society of The Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1917. In 1925 a new building was erected by The Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) of The United Church of Canada, with accommodation for 15 patients. This was named the Katherine H. Prittie Hospital, and was opened in July, 1926. At first the WMS retained a doctor who lived 34 miles away, but this did not prove very satisfactory, so in 1929 Dr. H.L.P. Grafton was appointed to Bonnyville. The hospital burned in August, 1934, and was rebuilt in 1935, In the following years many changes took place in the community. The Roman Catholic Church built a larger hospital, schools were opened, and a railway was built to Bonnyville. In 1947 the Alberta Health Department began organizing the province into Municipal Hospital Districts. The future of the hospital became uncertain. The work of the Woman's Missionary Society merged with the Board of Home Mission of the United Church in 1961 and administration of the hospital eventually was passed to the Duclos Hospital Society. The hospital is still in operation today.

Born in Hong Kong, KO James Yee Lai was trained in theology at Trinity Theological College, Singapore and was ordained by the Church of Christ in China, Hong Kong Council, in 1962. Rev. Ko came to Canada in 1964 and served with the Presbyterian Church at the Chinese Church in Windsor, Ontario. He was received into The United Church of Canada in 1972, and served at the Chinese United Church (Vancouver, B.C.) until his death.

Kuper Island Residential School was located on Penelakut Island (formerly Kuper Island) near the community of Chemainus, Vancouver Island. It was funded by The Government of Canada and operated by the Roman Catholic Church from 1890-1969. After 1969, the federal government took over administration of the school until it closed in 1975.

Ladner United Church (Delta, B.C.) was formed in 1925 out of the union of Ladner Methodist Church (Delta, B.C.) and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Delta, B.C.). Methodist activity in Delta extends back to at least 1883 when Ladner's Landing was attached to the Langley Mission. In 1884, Delta Mission was separated from Langley which, besides Ladner, included points at Mud Bay, Boundary Bay, McKee's, Westham Island and Crescent Island. By 1896, the mission or circuit was called Ladner. A Methodist church was built in Ladner in ca. 1887-1890. Presbyterian activity reaches back to at least 1888 when the Presbytery of Westminster formed the new Delta Mission Field which included various points: Ladner's Landing, Mud Bay, McKee's and Westham Island. The two main congregations were St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ladner (built ca. 1893) and St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church in East Delta (ca. 1891). St. Stephen's continued as a United Church congregation in Ladner Pastoral Charge from the time of union in 1925 until it disbanded in 2019. Ladner was a part of Vancouver South Presbytery until presbyteries ended, January 1, 2019.

Mary Letitia Lamb (1879-1961) was a Methodist/United Church missionary to China. She was born in St. Andrew's East, Quebec, attended McGill University part-time as a young adult, and was active in young people's work in the Methodist Church. In 1920 she volunteered to be Matron of the Canadian School for Missionary Children in West China; she learned the Chinese language and in 1926 was appointed by the Woman's Missionary Society to evangelistic work. She returned to Canada in 1941.

Presbyterian services in the Langley area began in 1874 in the home of a local resident. In the late 1880s, a Presbyterian group decided to build a church at Five Corners, in Murrayville. Thus, Sharon Presbyterian Church was opened in 1890. In the early 1920's, Langley Methodists attended Milner Methodist Church. Following Union in 1925, a United Church congregation formed in Langley in 1927, and services were initially held in a building known as the "Free to All Sunday School Building," on Glover Road. Early in 1930, the congregation decided to build a church of its own. A lot was purchased for $200 and in due course a church facility was built largely with volunteer labour. It was initially named Langley Prairie United Church, but was renamed Langley United Church. Langley United Church was a part of the Murrayville Pastoral Charge (Sharon United Church) from 1930-1950. In 1950, Langley Prairie United became a separate Pastoral Charge. The new Langley Prairie Pastoral Charge also included West Langley United Church from 1953-1962 and Clayton United Church from 1963-1964. By the early 1970s, it was clear the church needed to expand. Early in 1974 the present site at 5673 - 200th Street was purchased. A new building was dedicated on March 14, 1976. Further expansion of the facilities occurred in October 1991 with expanded Sunday School space, lounge area and office space. In 2012 Langley United Church amalgamated with Jubilee United, St. Andrew's United, and Sharon United to form the United Churches of Langley, part of Fraser Presbytery until presbyteries dissolved in 2019.

Thomas Alfred Large was born in 1859. After his ordination, he became a missionary to Japan. He was murdered there in 1890 by burglars when he tried to defend the Toyo Eiwa Gakko girls' school in Tokyo. His wife, the former Eliza Spencer, was also injured in the incident, and she remained in Tokyo with their daughter Kate until 1895.

Rev. Dr. A. Marshall Laverty (1912-2011) was born in Toronto, and educated at the University of Toronto, graduating with honours in 1937. That same year, he was ordained as a minister in The United Church of Canada. He served parishes in Toronto (1937), Manitoulin Island (1937-1939) and Stirling (1940-1941) before enlisting as Chaplain in the Canadian army in 1942, and serving with troops in Europe. After the war, he was appointed as Chaplain at Queen's University; the position the first of its kind to a Canadian university. During his time at Queen's he performed baptisms, marriage ceremonies and funeral services for Queen's people, and was a counsellor and mentor as well. He was also active with numerous charities in the Kingston area, serving on the Frontenac County Board of Education for more than 30 years. He retired as Chaplain in 1983 but remained very active in the community. He received many awards for his service and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1985. John was married to Frances Laverty.

Sang Chul Lee (1924-) was born in Siberia, a son of Korean immigrants. At seven, he moved to Manchuria and while there, attended a school operated by the Canadian Mission Board. After World War II he moved to South Korea, and received his theological education there and in Switzerland and Vancouver, Canada. His ordination was in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), a partner church of the United Church. With his family, Lee emigrated to Canada in 1965; serving a three-point charge in Vancouver. He came to Toronto in 1969 and for twenty years was pastor of the Toronto Korean United Church. Lee served as Moderator of the United Church from 1988-1990. He served as Chancellor of Victoria University, Toronto from 1992-1998.

Isabel Ogilvy Leslie was born in 1872. She was a missionary to China with The Methodist Church of Canada, then after union, The United Church of Canada, alongside her husband, Percy C. Leslie beginning in 1920.

Dr. Percy C. Leslie (1871-1965) was a medical missionary to China with The Presbyterian Church in Canada. He was born in 1871 in Montreal, Quebec. He graduated in Medicine at McGill University in 1896, and did post-graduate work in Scotland until 1901. He was appointed to North Honan, China in May, 1897 and remained there until he resigned in 1926. He died in 1965. He was married to Isabel Ogilvy.

LEUNG Chuk Ping was born in Kaiping (Hoiping), Guangdong, China. He came to Canada in 1922 with his son, So Won, and worked as clergy with the Methodist Church in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. During this time, the Methodist Church of Canada amalgamated with other denominations to form The United Church of Canada. Leung's remaining family members joined him in 1927, the same year he transferred to the Chinese United Church in Edmonton (1927-1930). This was followed by pastorates in New Westminster (1930-1932), Vancouver (1932-1938), Montreal (1938-1943), and once again Edmonton (1943-1952). LEUNG Chuk Ping died at Vancouver in June of 1965.

Rev. James Little (1875-1935) was a minister with The Presbyterian Church in Canada, then after 1925, The United Church of Canada. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1901, then attended Knox College from 1901-1904. He was ordained in the Presbytery of Toronto in 1905. He worked at Brampton Presbyterian Church (1905-1910), St. Pauls Presbyterian Church, Ottawa (1910-1917), Westminster Church, Toronto (1917-1935). He received a D.D. from Knox College in 1923. He died in June, 1935.

Wilfred Cornett Lockard (1906-1991) was born in Dundalk, Ontario. He received a B.A. from Victoria College, at the University of Toronto in 1929, and a M.A. from Emmanuel College in 1932. He was ordained by Toronto Conference in 1933, and also married his wife, Margaret that year. He served as minister in North Leith Parish, Edinburg from 1933-1935 while earning his Ph.D. in Church History. Following that, he was Secretary of The Student Christian Movement and Padre of Hart House at the University of Toronto from 1935-1940, during which time he was also the first Secretary of the Canadian Committee of the World Council of Churches. He was Minister of Sherbourne Street United in Toronto from 1940-1942, and Kingsway Lambton in Toronto from 1942-1955. He was the first Principal of United College, Winnipeg from 1955-1967, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg from 1967-1971. He served as Moderator of the United Church from 1966-1968, and also served the General Council office as Chairman of Toronto West Presbytery, the Board of Schools and Colleges of the United Church (1946-1955), the Department of Ecumenical Affairs for the Canadian Council of Churches (1946-1955), Winnipeg Presbytery (1962-1963). Lockhart died in 1991.

Ernest Edgar Long (1901-1985) was a United Church Minister and the longest serving Secretary of General Council. He was born in Brighton England to Harry Oliver Long and Ellen Kate Pierce and raised in Woodstock, ON. He was inspired at a young age to become a minister by his missionary sister, and was received as a probationer for Methodist Ministry in 1916 by Woodstock District and Hamilton Conference. He served at the following probationary charges in the U.S.A. and Canada: Drumo-Richwood of Woodstock District, Shaunayon Presbytery Saskatchewan, Chetwynd Charge Burk’s Falls and East Dorset, Vermont. He earned his B.A. from Victoria College and Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in 1927. While at Union Theological School he served as Boys’ Work Secretary and Youth Leader at Peoples’ Home Church and Settlement, East 11th St. N.Y.C. (Methodist) and Assistant Director of Christian Education at West Side Presbyterian Church, Ridgewood, N.J.. During this time he also completed most credits for M.A. at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, N.Y.. He was ordained in 1926 by the London Conference and served at the following pastorates: Avondale United Church, Collier Street United Church, Trinity United Church Barrie, Fairmount-St. Giles Quebec and Humbercrest United Church. In 1931 he married Dr. Dorothy Elizabeth Toye and had two children Peter bad Elizabeth. While serving as a minister he also held various responsibilities in church courts from 1939 to 1954. With his expertise in church government he become Secretary of the General Council in 1955 and served for seventeen years. While Secretary he did a lot of ecumenical work and most notably was a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

Isabella McIntosh Loveys (d.1950), known as Isabel, was a missionary to Honan and longtime Home Mission Executive Secretary of The Woman's Missionary Society of The United Church of Canada. He was born in Glengarry County, Ontario. She attended McGill University, graduating in Social Sciences. From 1903-1927 she was a missionary to Honan with the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Afterward, she began home mission work at St. Columba House, Montreal, and enlisted with the Woman's Missionary Society as a church social worker in Verdun, Quebec. She was then appointed as an Immigration Worker at the port and railway terminals of Montreal, later becoming a 'Special Colonization Agent' with the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways and travelling around Canada. Afterward, she became Travelling Secretary of the Woman's Missionary Society. In 1935 she became the first Home Mission Executive Secretary of the Woman's Missionary Society. During her time with the W.M.S. she was also an active member of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto, was a member of several committees of the Board of Christian Education, was on the executive of the Board of Evangelism and Social Service, and was a member of the Board of Home Missions, and a member of a number of Committees and Commission of the General Council. She retired from her position with the W.M.S. in 1958. She was married to Mr C. Maxwell Loveys, an official with the C.N.R. in Montreal.

Margaret Jean MacDondald was born on April 15, 1917 in Bredenbury Saskatchewan. She studied at Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, Yale, Columbia, and New College in Edinburgh. In 1951 MacDonald went to Japan as a missionary. She worked closely with Haramachida United Church of Christ, teaching kindergarten, English, and helping with worship services as well. MacDonald returned to Canada in 1981 after working in Japan for 30 years, and she retired in 1982. MacDonald settled in Vancouver upon her return and served as President of the Vancouver School of Theology Women's Auxiliary, and she helped prepare for the 1983 World Council of Churches. MacDonald suffered a mild stroke at 90, and passed away on July 4, 2012.

W. Clarke MacDonald (1920-1993) was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia. MacDonald graduated from Dalhousie University in 1941. Afterwards, he took his theological training at Pine Hill Divinity Hall in Halifax, was ordained by the Maritime Conference in 1943. In 1944, he received his Bachelor of Divinity from Pine Hill, and married Muriel MacDonald. From 1944-1962, he served pastorates including West Bay (Cape Breton), Black River Ridge (New Brunswick), Port Hawkesbury and Trinity Church (Cape Breton) and also served as Secretary of the Maritime Conference from 1961-1962. From 1962-1971 he was minister at St. Luke’s in Toronto, then, was appointed Secretary of the Board of Evangelism and Social Service in 1971. He served as Moderator of the United Church from 1982-1984. After serving as Moderator, he returned to his position of Deputy Secretary of the Division of Mission in Canada, with the responsibility for the Office of Church in Society and also, was chairman of the ecumenical Project Ploughshares. He retired in 1986 and died in 1993.

Norman Hall MacKenzie (1915-1989) was a United Church minister, an overseas missionary and a church administrator. He was born in North Honan, China, the son of missionaries. He married Dorothy MacKenzie in 1943; she was the child of missionaries and a registered nurse. He served as a missionary in China, India and Nigeria. Mackenzie served as Personnel Secretary, Board of World Mission (1966-1969), and later with the Division of Mission in Canada of the United Church and served pastorates in Ontario. During the years 1969-1972, Mackenzie served as pastor of the Rama Reserve & Mission [Chippewas of Rama First Nation], near Orillia, Ontario.

Wayne Oliver MacKenzie was born at Riparia, Washington. He was ordained in The United Church of Canada by BC Conference in 1958. He served pastoral charges in Alert Bay (1958-1961); Bamfield (1962-1963); North Kamloops (1964-1966); Enderby (1967-1971); Squamish (1972-1974); and Revelstoke (1975-1976). MacKenzie retired in 1976 and served the church at Kaslo as retired supply (1978). In his early charges, he served as skipper of the “Robert C. Scott” and pilot of a Cessna, both part of the marine mission work of the Church on the coast. In his later years, he was a vocal member of the Community of Concern, an organization that arose in response to the Church’s decision to ordain qualified candidates regardless of sexual orientation. MacKenzie died in 2000.

Angus James MacQueen (1912-) was a United Church minister and Moderator. He was born in Cape Breton, and was educated at Mount Allison University (B.A.) and Pine Hill Divinity Hall (B.D. and D.D.). After graduation Rev. MacQueen held pastorates in the Maritimes (1935-1946), Edmonton (1946-1951), London (1951-1964), and Toronto (1964-1980). He was elected Moderator in 1958.

Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Marlin was a diaconal minister with The United Church of Canada. Early in her ministry, Betty was part of a small group of diaconal ministers who pushed for the formation of a diaconal association. This led to the establishment in 1984 of the association of practitioners of diaconal ministry, known as “Diakonia of the United Church of Canada” (DUCC). In the late-1980s and early 1990s, Betty was instrumental in both establishing and coordinating the Western Field-Based Diaconal Ministry Program, which was sponsored by St. Stephen’s College (1989–1996). This work in western Canada was followed up by four years in Zambia where she taught at the United Church of Zambia Theological College, contributing to the training of students studying for ordained and diaconal ministry. Throughout her life, she has been an active member of the United Church of Canada, working and/or volunteering in various capacities in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Notably, as Conference Staff in Social Ministry, Betty was active in the development and training of the Sexual Abuse and Harassment Committee, in education and advocacy for the LGBTQ2+ community, and in the promotion of language and action that builds gender equality in church life and beyond. Betty has been recognised with a Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) from St. Andrew’s College (1999), a Companion of the Centre for Christian Studies (2006), and the Order of St. Stephen's College in 2020.

Robert Baird McClure (1900-1991) was a medical missionary overseas and the first lay Moderator of the United Church. He was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of Dr. William McClure, a Presbyterian medical missionary to China. Bob McClure graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1922. He married Amy Hislop in 1926 and returned to China, where he served as a missionary until 1948. He also served in Gaza, Palestine and Ratlam, India, before he was elected Moderator of The United Church of Canada in 1968. After his term as Moderator, McClure continued to work in Sarawak, Malaysia, Peru, in the West Indies and in Zaire. In 1971, McClure was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Ethel Susan McEachran was a Presbyterian, and later United Church, missionary and educator. She was born on September 13, 1881 in York County to Colin and Martha (née Proctor) McEachran. She attended the London Normal School and taught for nine years. While the exact dates are unknown, records indicate McEachran also attended the Ontario College of Education and the Presbyterian Missionary and Deaconess Training Home.

In 1913, McEachran was appointed by the Presbyterian Church in Canada's Foreign Mission Committee, Western Section to Korea. From 1913-1915 she was stationed in Sŏngjin (now Kimch'aek) to learn Korean and probably to teach at the local girls' school. In 1915 she founded the Young Saing Girls' School in Hamhŭng, becoming its first principal. She took a leave of absence and returned to Canada in order to attend Queen's University in Kingston, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1922. She remained principal until 1941 when the wartime exodus of missionaries forced McEachran to return to Canada.

She continued her missionary work in a domestic setting, being stationed as superintendent of St. Columba House in Montreal between 1941 and 1943, then at Settlement House, Regina between 1945 and 1947, and finally to carry out community work in Saskatoon. McEachran retired to Toronto in 1951, but continued teaching English classes for immigrant communities.

McEachran died on October 27, 1959 at the age of 78, and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Stanley J. McKay (1942-) was born and raised on Fisher River Indian Reserve. He attended Fisher River Indian Day School until he was 13 years old, then was sent to Birtle Indian Residential School to complete High School. After a year at the Manitoba Teacher’s College he taught at Norway House, Manitoba from 1962-1964. In 1967, McKay graduated with a B.D. from United College in Winnipeg, and married his wife, Dorothy. In 1971, he was ordained, the ceremony being held at Stevens Memorial Church on the reservation where he grew up. McKay served Fisher River from 1971-1975, and Norway House from 1975-1982 before being hired to coordinate the developments of the United Church’s national consultation process for the National Native Council, 1982-1987. During that time, McKay successfully advocated for the Church’s apology for it’s role in culture oppression of First Nations peoples in 1986. From 1987-1988 he served in Native Ministry at Winnipeg Presbytery and in 1988 was hired as the director of the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Resource Centre, a training centre for native ministries. McKay served as Moderator from 1992-1994.

Audrey Patricia Marie McKim (1926-1999) was born in Toronto. She attended Eastern High School of Commerce and the Ontario Ladies College. She received her B.A. from Victoria University in 1953, and earned a diploma in Christian Education from Covenant College in 1954. At the United Church of Canada, she was an editor of “Discovery” and “World Friends” with the Board of Sunday School Publications, and was also the Director of Christian Education at two Toronto churches. McKim was one of the first United Church of Canada missionaries to Kenya, where she served for ten years. She initially went to Kenya as a Deaconess of the United Church, and part of the Canadian contingent to Operation Crossroads Africa in 1962. In 1963 she returned as a Christian Education Worker with the National Christian Council, and the Christian Churches Educational Association where she worked until 1967. From 1968-1972, she served as Administrative Secretary for the same organizations. In 1972, as part of the World Council of Churches’ Relief and Rehabilitation Team, she undertook a special assignment in Southern Sudan, launching a secretarial school for the government to train some of the first female governmental employees in Sudan. After returning home in 1973, McKim served as Mission Secretary of the Hamilton Conference from 1973-1974, Personnel Secretary of the Division of World Outreach, 1974-1977, Executive Secretary with Registrarial duties at Emmanuel College, 1979-1981 and Administrator at St. Matthew’s Bracondale House from 1981-1982. McKim was also a prolific writer and authored numerous articles and books, mostly for children. She was a founding member of CANSCAIP, the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers.

Claire Serena Stevens McLellan was a Deaconess with The United Church of Canada and attended the United Church Training School, winning the Martha Rutherford Beatty Scholarship and The Anna Hilliard Scholarship for General Proficiency in 1950.

Hugh Alexander McLeod (1894-1992) was a Presbyterian/United Church minister and Moderator of the United Church. He was born in Owen Sound, Ontario. Originally planning to pursue a career in law, he worked his way through university as a helmsman on the Great Lakes' steamboats. He served as a quartermaster aboard barges crossing the English Channel with ammunition during World War I. In 1921, he married Doreen Taggart. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in Luseland, Saskatchewan, in 1920 and served various charges in Western Canada. In 1960, he was elected Moderator of the United Church.

Norman Bruce McLeod was Moderator of The United Church of Canada, 1972-1974. He was born in Toronto in 1929. He obtained his B.D. from Emmanuel College in 1953, M.A. from Columbia University and Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary in 1960. He was ordained by Toronto Conference in 1953 and served at the following churches in Ontario: Victoria Harbour, 1956-1958; St. Stephen’s on-the-Hill, Port Credit, 1958-1965; Westdale United Church, Hamilton, 1965-1970; Bloor Street United Church, Toronto, 1970-1975; and Richmond Hill United Church, 1979-1983; Metropolitan Toronto, 1984-1987; Bellefair, 1989-1994. Following retirement in 1994, he served as long term pulpit supply at St. John’s Stratford, 1994-1995; St. John’s Scarborough, 2000; Rosedale, 2000-2001. During his term as moderator he travelled extensively in Canada. In 1975 following his term as Moderator he became a Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and was responsible for public hearings across Ontario, receiving 300 written briefs and drafting "Life Together", the first revision of the Human Rights Code in 15 years.

In the 1980s and 1990s Dr. McLeod was often invited as international observer and went to Africa, Latin America and Asia. Inter-faith conversations were a hallmark of his service. He was a frequent contributor to the United Church Observer and for eight years, a weekly op-ed columnist for the Toronto Star.

The British Columbia Conference was established in 1887 and remained in place until the union of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in Canada to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. Prior to 1887, the work of the Methodist Church in B.C. was carried out under the auspices of the Toronto Conference. The Conference was an annual meeting with an equal number of lay and ministerial representatives from each District. Its functions were to elect representatives to the General Conference, to approve any sales of Church property within its jurisdiction, and to appoint and supervise the work of various Church committees and officers within its boundaries. In between sessions of the Annual Conference, a Special Committee of senior members reporting to the Conference was responsible for handling any business that could not be left until the next Annual Conference, with the exception of Church property, which remained the sole jurisdiction of the Conference. Each Conference was immediately preceded by a Ministerial Session whose function was to examine and approve the ordination of ministers and probationers within the bounds of the Conference.

Metropolitan Methodist Church was originally known as Pandora Avenue Methodist Church, founded in 1859. Services began in the Victoria police barracks in February, 1859. In May, 1860, Pandora Street Methodist Church was opened and dedicated at the corner of Pandora Avenue and Broad Street. This church was expanded in 1872, but by the 1890s it was too small. New property was purchased, and a new church building was opened in May, 1891. At that point, the congregation changed its name to Metropolitan Methodist Church. Metropolitan Methodist Church entered church union in 1925, becoming Metropolitan United Church. At church union in 1925, the congregation became Metropolitan United Church.

Metropolitan United Church was created in 1925 when Metropolitan Methodist Church entered church union. The building, constructed in 1891, was located at the corner of Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street. Shortly after union, First Congregational Church joined Metropolitan United. In 1997, Metropolitan amalgamated with First United Church to form First Metropolitan United Church, making its home at the former First United on Balmoral Road at Quadra Street. The Metropolitan United Church building was sold to the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Joseph Edwin James Millyard (1876-1950) was a Methodist, then United Church Minister. He served as Conference President for the Methodist Church. He worked in the following areas in Ontario after 1925: Wesley, London (1925-1928), George Street, Peterborough (1929-1934), Hyatt, London (1935-1937). He retired in London in 1938 and died June, 1950.

Arthur Bruce Barbour Moore (1906-2004) was born in Keswick Ridge, New Brunswick. He received his early education in New Brunswick and Quebec and graduated from McGill in 1927 with honours in English and History. In 1930, he graduated from United Theological College in Montreal with his Bachelor of Divinity. Following graduation, he spent seven years as a minister in Quebec (Amherst Park United Church, Howick United Church) and four years as a minister of College Hill Church in Easton, Pennsylvania. From 1940-1942 he supplied at Parkdale United Church in Ottawa, then served at Westminster United Church in Saskatoon until 1946 when he was appointed Principal of St. Andrew’s college. He received a Doctor of Divinity in 1947, and was elected President of the Saskatchewan Conference of The United Church of Canada in 1949. In 1950 he was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University. In 1952 he received his Doctor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan and a Doctor of Divinity from Trinity College in Toronto. From 1954-1958 he was Chairman of the Board of Overseas Missions of the United Church. In 1969, he was appointed President of the Canadian Council of Churches. From 1971-1972 he served as Moderator of the United Church. From 1973-1974 he served as an Interim Minister at St. Andrews Kirk in Nassau, Bahamas. In 1976 he served as Interim General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches and was also named to the Order of Canada. From 1977-1980 he served as Chancellor of the University of Toronto. Moore died in 2004. He was married to Margaret Moore who died in 2004.

Thomas Albert Moore (1860-1940) was a Methodist/United Church minister and administrator and Moderator of the United Church of Canada. He was born in Acton, Ontario. He studied at McGill University and Wesleyan College, Montreal, was ordained in 1884, and served Methodist circuits in Ontario. He was Secretary of the Lord's Day Alliance of Ontario, 1903-1906; Secretary of the Methodist General Conference, 1906-1925; Secretary of the Methodist Board of Temperance and Moral Reform/Evangelism and Social Service, 1910-1925; Secretary of the General Council of the United Church, 1925-1936; and Moderator of the United Church, 1932-1934. He also served in several other positions, including committees relating to church union (1925).

James Ralph Mutchmor (1892-1980) was a United Church minister, administrator and Moderator. He was born on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. He served in the Canadian Field Artillery in World War I, and returned home after being wounded at Vimy Ridge. After the war, he studied economics and theology in Toronto and New York. He was ordained a Presbyterian Minister in 1920, and ministered in Winnipeg, first at Robertson Memorial Church and House (1920-1932), then at John Black Memorial Church (1932-1936). During his residence in Winnipeg he was also the Secretary of the Manitoba Welfare Supervision Board from 1926-1936, and of its Child Welfare Board from 1934-1936. He served as the Secretary of the United Church Board of Evangelism and Social Service from 1938 to his retirement in 1963, was the Moderator of the 20th General Council of the United Church, 1962-1964, and the Secretary of the United Church Committee on Church and International Affairs, 1938-1964. During World War II he was Chairman of Chaplaincy Services and Secretary of its War Services Committee. He also served other Church and ecumenical organizations. He was secretary of the National Religious Advisory Council of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 24 years, being responsible for the United Church broadcasts on Religious Period and Church of the Air on Sunday Afternoons, and was a recognized television personality. Mutchmor died on May 17, 1980.

Grace Namba was a kindergarten and music teacher employed by the United Church, initially through the Woman's Missionary Society. Her family included Toyonori Namba (father) and Tokiwa Namba (mother; nee Tokiwa Ogura). She taught at the Steveston Japanese kindergarten until she was forcibly uprooted to Greenwood, B.C. during the internment of Japanese Canadians. There, she continued her work with the Greenwood congregation. In 1949, Ms. Namba graduated from the United Church Training School in Toronto and became a deaconess. For most of her ministry, she served the Vancouver Japanese United Church congregation, retiring from there in 1978.

Rev. Dr. C.M. Nicholson was Moderator of the United Church of Canada, 1950-1952