Lily May McCargar was born on December 14, 1887 at Maxville, Ontario. She was educated in Ontario and attended the Margaret Eaton School of Literature and Expression in Toronto. She moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in 1909 to teach English to members of the Chinese Methodist Mission Church. She joined the Woman's Missionary Society in 1921 as a mission worker, and was sent to Vancouver to work with the kindergarten at the Chinese Methodist Church (which came under The United Church of Canada in 1925). In 1933, she chose to use her year of furlough by traveling to China to study Cantonese. Before returning to Canada, she visited Jerusalem, Egypt, Germany, and the United Kingdom. During a second furlough, she attended the lectures at the Canadian School of Missions and at Emmanuel College in Toronto. Lily McCargar died on November 6, 1947 at Vancouver.
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.
Canadian Urban Training began as a resource where clergy could prepare themselves for inner city social justice work in Toronto in 1965. CUT was an ecumenical program (funded by the United, Presbyterian, and Anglican Churches) that grew to include others that wanted to work towards social change. As more women and minority groups joined CUT, the program and network evolved to meet the needs of the people it served. The Action Training Collective (a part of CUT) was located at 200 - 1955 West Fourth Avenue, in Vancouver; along with the BC Conference offices. The program was dissolved in 1988 after it was decided that its forms and structures were no longer serving its objectives.
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.
The Seniors Working Group (SWG) originated in 2011 with representatives from the pastoral committees of five United Church congregations on the west side of Vancouver: Dunbar Heights, Knox, Trinity, West Point Grey, University Hill. The working group formed partly in response to a growing gap in community services for seniors west of Granville Street. Within a few years, it grew to encompass further westside congregations, including Anglican parishes.
The SWG's main purpose and vision was to help seniors/elders age with vitality and expanded options, working within church congregations and the wider community. It sponsored pastoral care training events; held public forums on a variety of topics; and undertook networking and collaboration with other community groups with similar aims. Congregational pastoral care committees within the SWG membership supported an array of activities, including prayer groups, transportation, education/communications, food support and programs, visitation, and card and flower ministries.
Collaborative work with the nascent Westside Seniors Hub – which operated out of Kitsilano Neighbourhood House – began in 2015. The Westside Seniors Hub gradually assumed the community-wide programming of the SWG, and the SWG dissolved after transferring its funds to that organization on May 27, 2022.
Canadian Ecumenical Action began in 1973 as People's Opportunities in Ecumenical Mission (or POEM), for the development and support of new expressions of mission, and support of the expression of faith in work and in daily life by lay people of all churches and faiths. Rev. Val Anderson served as the founding coordinator of the new organization, which was originally organized into the Planning Board and standing committees (most prominently the Executive, the Finance Committee, and the Nominations Committee), the office, and numerous smaller committees or activity groups responsible for specific programs or projects. From the beginning, POEM served as a seedbed for other ventures, providing phone and office services, information, advertising and support through its newsletter and network of volunteers, and in some cases providing space or funding support. Many endeavours began as ventures within POEM, and eventually came to be independent.
In December 1976, POEM's name was officially changed to Canadian Ecumenical Action (CEA); however, the mission, and the organization of the work, remained substantially unchanged. Programs introduced between 1976 and 1979 included Alternatives in Justice and Corrections, the local chapter of the Canada-China Program, the Single Parent Network (also known as the Single Family Network and the Single Parent Action Network or SPAN), Poverty Focus, and the SFU Campus Ministry, among others.
By 1981, CEA's activities were clearly organized into the four divisions. Communication, Education, Community Action, and Administration, each of which had its own managing committee and reported separately to the Board.
CEA was also involved in organizing the 1983 World Council of Churches in Vancouver. CEA's orientation during this time was changing more and more towards sharing and cooperation among peoples of all faiths, rather than just Christian faiths, and in 1985 constitutional changes were made to reflect CEA's emerging identity as "a multifaith community action organization." By the early 2000s, the organization became the Multifaith Action Society, dedicated to the facilitation of interfaith education and dialogue.
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.
Canadian Memorial Chapel was the result of an amalgamation of Sixth Avenue Methodist Church and Fourteenth Avenue Methodist Church. It became known as Canadian Memorial United Church after Church Union in 1925.
As early as 1910, a small group of Methodists and Presbyterians gathered for worship at the Wilson Road (Kerrisdale) School prior to the establishment of Kerrisdale Methodist Church. Kerrisdale Methodist Church opened on November 26, 1911 in a small building on the north-east corner of 45th Avenue and Yew Street, Vancouver. In 1925, Kerrisdale Methodist Church came into union, and changed its name to Ryerson United Church. Ryerson United required a larger church building, and the present building was dedicated on March 25th, 1928. A Christian Education Centre in the Ryerson Memorial Centre was built and dedicated in March of 1950. The Ryerson congregation amalgamated with Dunbar Heights United Church to form Dunbar Ryerson United Church on January 1, 2017 and changed its name to Pacific Spirit United Church the following year.
John A. Logan was born in Upper Stewiacke, Nova Scotia and educated at Pine Hill Theological College. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1877. In 1892, he moved to British Columbia and held pastorates at Chilliwack, Cumberland, and Richmond. In 1908, he began work as registrar, treasurer, and lecturer in church polity at Westminster Hall in Vancouver. He retired from active ministry in 1925. Some of the positions he held in the church included 19 years as clerk of the Synod of British Columbia; moderator of Westminster Presbytery in 1898; moderator of the Synod of British Columbia in 1905, and honourary secretary of BC Conference after church union.
St. Andrew's United Church was created when St. Andrew's Presbyterian voted to enter Church Union in 1925. It was located at Georgia and Richards, and was the site on June 10, 1925 of the service of celebration of union for The United Church of Canada in B.C. Shortly thereafter, a joint committee was formed with Wesley United Church, and St. John's United Church (which included the members of First Congregational Church who had also chosen to enter union) to consider amalgamation of the churches serving the west side of Vancouver. The First Congregational Church building was given to the continuing Presbyterian Church.
In 1927, St. Andrew's United Church amalgamated with Wesley United Church, and in 1928, new property was purchased for the new St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church on Burrard and Nelson, after the sale of Wesley United Church. The amalgamated congregation continued to use the two buildings, with morning services at St. Andrew's, and evening services at Wesley, until December 1932. The new St. Andrew's-Wesley church was opened in May 1933. The old St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church building, erected in 1890, was torn down in 1937.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was organized in 1888, with the support of First Presbyterian Church, which had been organized in 1885.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian was to serve the west side of Vancouver. A small church was built and opened in July 1888. The first minister was Rev. E.D. McLaren. Within a year, the congregation had outgrown the first building, and a new church on Georgia and Richards was opened and dedicated in May 1890. In 1904, a Sunday school building was opened, and in 1906, the church building was enlarged.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian voted to enter Church Union in 1925, and was the site on June 10, 1925 of the service of celebration of union for The United Church of Canada in B.C.
Douglas Bacon was born in Peterborough, Ontario and grew up in the in United Church. After studying Medicine for one year at the University of Toronto, he decided that his skills would be better served as an ordained minister. He received his Bachelor of Sacred Theology from McGill and was ordained by Bay of Quinte Conference in 1969.
Douglas served in pastoral ministry at Bruce Mines, Ontario; St. Margaret's, Kingston; West Point Grey, Vancouver; and Colebrook, Surrey. He held positions as Secretary of Kent Presbytery, London Conference (1974-1976); Chair of Education and Students Committee, Bay of Quinte Conference; member and Chair of the Worship and Liturgy Committee of the United Church, and co-editor of A Sunday Liturgy (1978-1984); Chair of Vancouver-Burrard Presbytery (1987-1989); and member and Chair of the national Candidature Committee of the United Church (1990-1996). He retired in 2010.
Previously known as Central Methodist Church (1908-1916), Turner Institute amalgamated with First Presbyterian Church at the time of Church Union, 1925.
St. Andrew's-Wesley Church is a congregation of the United Church of Canada, a denomination formed in 1925 by the union of Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Local Union Churches. As the name implies, it is the successor of two congregations, St. Andrew's Presbyterian and Wesley Methodist.
Methodist services began in Vancouver as early as 1864, when Methodist missionaries recorded as arriving in the Vancouver area in 1859. A parsonage and church was built on Water St. in 1875. A fire destroyed this church in 1886 and temporary services were held in a hall on the site of the former church. In 1887, the congregation divided into two: Princess Street and Homer Street. By 1901, it was clear that the membership had outgrown the Homer Street church and a new foundation was laid at the corner of Georgia and Burrard Streets, with the new church to be known as Wesley Methodist. Completed and dedicated by the end of 1901, Wesley Methodist is regarded as the lineal descendent of the first Methodist Church on Water Street, and the mother of many of the Methodist Churches that later sprang up in Vancouver.
A Presbyterian congregation was organized in a community schoolhouse in the 1870s. First Presbyterian Church was erected on Cordova Street but was destroyed in the 1886 fire. The congregation then moved to a larger centre on the corner of Gore and Hastings Streets in 1892. The building was enlarged and re-dedicated in 1906 and after 1932 became the home of First United Church. St. Andrew's was also mother to a number of new Presbyterian Churches in Vancouver.
First Congregational Church held its first service on April 28, 1888 in Wilson Hall on the southwest corner of Cordova and Abbott streets. The congregation was officially organized on June 17, 1888. It secured property on the corner of Richards and Georgia streets, with the new church officially opening on December 8, 1889. The congregation split away to form Central Congregational Church over the issue of pacifism, but returned to First Congregational Church in 1903. Property was purchased at the corner of Thurlow and Pendrell Streets and a new church building was opened on November 9, 1912. In 1925, First Congregational Church became a congregation of the United Church of Canada and First Congregational was amalgamated with St. John's United Church. The First Congregational Church building was given to the continuing Presbyterian Church.
On June 10, 1925, the union of the United Church of Canada was celebrated at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Georgia and Richards, with both St. Andrew's Presbyterian and Wesley Methodist joining union. Following church union, a joint committee of St. Andrew's United and Wesley United Churches, along with representatives of St. John's United Church (which included the members of First Congregational Church who had also chosen to enter union) to consider amalgamation of the churches serving the west side of Vancouver. St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church came into being as the voted union of Wesley United and St. Andrew's United Church in June 1927.
The first services of St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church were held on September 7, 1930, with morning services in St. Andrew's church and evening services in the Wesley church, a procedure followed until December 4, 1932 (The Wesley property was sold in 1928, though it remained in use until 1933). The sale enabled the congregation to purchase a site on Burrard and Nelson streets. The "Cathedral Church of the United Church in B.C.", St. Andrew's-Wesley's new building was opened on May 26, 1933, with Rev. Dr. Willard Brewing as first minister of the united congregation.
From 1976-1981, after a fire destroyed the St. John's United Church building, St. John's United became part of a two-point St. Andrew's-Wesley-St. John's pastoral charge, but the two congregations did not amalgamate. In 1981, with a new church building, St. John's United again became an independent pastoral charge. St. Andrew's-Wesley continues as one of the formative congregations of the United Church in Vancouver.
(繁體和簡體中文版本如下) (繁体和简体中文版本如下) (Traditional and simplified Chinese versions below) The Chinese United Church Mission in Victoria was created when the Methodist Mission joined The United Church of Canada in 1925. The United Church Year Book last records the existence of the congregation in 1965.
Traditional Chinese:
歷史簡介
維多利亞的華人協和教會在1925 年華人衛理公會加入加拿大協和教會時成立。協和教會年鑑最後一次記錄該會的存在是在 1965 年。
Simplified Chinese:
历史简介
维多利亚，华人协和教会在1925 年华人卫理公会加入加拿大协和教会时成立。协和教会年鉴最后一次记录该会的存在是在 1965 年。
KWAN Yu Nam was born in China, October 18, 1880. He came to Canada in 1912, serving the Chinese Methodist Church in Victoria for ten years, then the Chinese Methodist/United Church in Vancouver until 1932. After another decade serving the Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, he returned to Vancouver to retire in 1942.
Barnabas Courtland Freeman was born in Frontenac County, Ontario, in July, 1869. He went to Saskatchewan as a missionary in 1891, was ordained by the Manitoba and Northwest Conference of the Methodist Church in 1892, and was married to Ida Lawson of Frontenac County the same year. In 1893, he travelled west to British Columbia, serving among the Indigenous peoples at Skidegate, Lax Kw’alaams (Port Simpson), Port Essington, and Cape Mudge. In 1910 he ventured south to serve pastorates in Cumberland, Revelstoke, Port Coquitlam, and Vancouver. He was elected President of B.C. Conference in 1920. Freeman died at Cape Mudge in 1935. Throughout most of his career, he wrote poetry, short stories and essays. His poetry was published in The New Outlook, The Christian Guardian, and other church periodicals.
(日本語版は以下に記載) (Japanese version below)
The Japanese Methodist Mission was established in Vancouver in 1896. It fell within the purview of the Home Missions Board until well after WW II, even though the congregation had become self-supporting by 1936. The congregation's first building was constructed in 1907 or 1908 at the corner of Jackson and Powell Streets. It became known as the Powell Street Church. A gymnasium and social hall were added in the 1920s, for which the congregation raised $12,000. The Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) was involved with the Japanese Mission from very early on. They taught kindergarten and home economics at the Mission, held prayer meetings, and raised funds to add to the voluntary contributions of the congregation and Home Missions. The congregation boasted an excellent Sunday school, Tuxis and Explorers groups, Mission Band, and CGIT. The Rev. Dr. Kosaburo Shimizu served the congregation from 1926 to 1942. He introduced many Christian education opportunities within the congregation, established the Young People's Union, introduced monthly English-speaking worship services, and started a relief department providing food and clothing during the Depression of the 1930s. He also helped the congregation achieve self-supporting status.
Members living in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood raised enough money, along with a Home Missions grant, to build a second Japanese Church in 1928 (by then part of The United Church of Canada).The Fairview Mission later became known as the Columbia Street Mission (from 1949 on), which was sold in 1977. From 1942 to 1949, the two buildings were used by First United Church, St. Giles, and the WMS while Japanese Canadian citizens were interned in internment camps. The Powell Street and Columbia Street buildings were held in trust by the Board of Home Missions during the war. In 1953, the Powell St. property was sold. From then on, the Japanese- and English-speaking congregations met in a number of different venues, none of which they owned, beginning with First United Church. In 1958 both Nisei and Issei (Japanese speaking) church members were worshipping in Fairview Church on Columbia. In 1962, they moved to Renfrew United Church. In 1978, the congregation purchased St. Luke's United Church building.
At its general meeting in May 2009, BC Conference made a statement of Recognition and Apology to the Japanese United Church for the sale of the Powell Street church building 56 years earlier. In June of that year, a Service of Reconciliation took place at the Vancouver Japanese United Church. Early in 2017, the English-speaking congregation disbanded.
日本メソジスト伝道ミッションが1896年にバンクーバーに設立されました。第二次世界大戦後まで、ホームミッション委員会の管轄下にありましたが、1936年までには自立していました。会衆の最初の建物は1907年か1908年にジャクソン通りとパウエル通りの角に建てられ、パウエル通り教会として知られるようになりました。1920年代には体育館と社交場が増築され、そのために会衆は12,000ドルを集めました。婦人宣教会（WMS）は、非常に早い時期から日系人宣教に関与し、伝道所で幼稚園と家庭科を教え、祈祷会を開き、教会とホームミッションへの自発的な献金に加えて献金を集めました。教会は優れた日曜学校、タキシス、エクスプローラーズグループ、ミッションバンド、CGITを誇っていました。清水小三郎牧師は1926年から1942年まで牧師として仕え、教会内に多くのキリスト教教育の機会を導入し、青年会を設立し、毎月の英語による礼拝を導入し、1930年代の大恐慌の間、食糧と衣類を提供する救済部門をも開始しました。彼はまた、教会が自立した地位を獲得するのを助けました。
バンクーバーのフェアビュー地区に住む会員たちは、ホームミッションの助成金と合わせて、1928年に2つ目の日系人教会（当時はカナダ合同教会の一部）を建てるのに十分な資金を集めました。フェアビュー・ミッションはその後、コロンビア・ストリート・ミッション（1949年以降）として知られるようになりましたが、1977年に売却されました。1942年から1949年まで、日系カナダ人が収容所に収容されている間、この2つの建物はFirst United Church、セントジャイルズ、WMSによって使用されていました。パウエル通りとコロンビア通りの建物は、戦時中、ホームミッション委員会に信託されていましたが、1953年、その教会は売却されてしまいました。それ以来、日本語を話す信徒と英語を話す信徒は、First United Churchを皮切りに、いくつもの異なる場所で集うようになりました。1958年から、二世（英語）と一世（日本語）の教会員が、コロンビアにあるフェアビュー教会で礼拝していましたが1962年は、レンフルー合同教会に移り、1978年にはSaint Luke United Churchの建物を購入しました。
2009年5月、カナダ合同教会のBC Conferenceでは、56年前にパウエル・ストリートの教会堂を売却したことに対し、日系人合同教会に認識と謝罪の声明を発表し、同年6月、バンクーバー日本人合同教会で和解の礼拝が行われました。2017年初め、英語部の会衆は解散しました。
Vancouver District was created through a division of Westminster District in 1896. Vancouver District divided into Vancouver East and Vancouver West districts in 1910.
In 1925, the Secord United Church congregation was established, and their first church building was erected in 1928. At that time, Secord United was a part of a three point Pastoral Charge. River Avenue Pastoral Charge (1925-1931) included River Avenue United Church in South Vancouver, Secord United Church, and Dundonald United Church, located in South Burnaby. From 1931 to 1935, a new partnership arose with Secord-Renfrew Pastoral Chrage, which consisted of Secord and Renfrew United Churches. From 1936 to 1950, Secord United became a one point Pastoral Charge. In 1950 the name of the church was changed to Fraserview United Church, and in 1953 the building underwent major expansion and renovations. On July 1, 1995, Fraserview United Church was amalgamated into Collingwood-Fraserview-Wilson Heights Pastoral Charge, which met as a single congregation at the Wilson Heights church building. In 1998, this Pastoral Charge was renamed Wilson Heights Pastoral Charge.
St. Giles United Church began its life as Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church. A Union Sunday School had been meeting at 7th Avenue and Westminister Road (now Kingsway) as early as 1890. In 1891, a Presbyterian Mission was established at the Temperance Hall on 10th Avenue near Westminister Avenue (now Main Street). The Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Mission was formally organized in February 1892, and their first church was built on property between 7th and 8th Avenues on Westminster Road (Kingsway). Due to the rapid growth of the congregation, a new church was built and dedicated in January of 1910. The congregation voted to enter church union in 1925 and changed their name to St. Giles United Church. In the years following World War II, the southern area of Vancouver grew rapidly and St. Giles United moved to a new neighborhood on 41st Avenue, east of Cambie Street. The new church was dedicated in November 1949. In 1996, St. Giles and South Hill United Churches amalgamated to form St. Giles-South Hill United Church. In 1999, the name of this congregation was changed to Oakridge United Church.
CHOW Ling was born in Kaiping (Hoiping), Guangdong, China and came to Canada as a boy of 14 in 1907. He spent his early years in Victoria, attending the Methodist Church there. In 1920, the church sent him to Nelson, B.C. to relieve C.Y. Chow. He returned to China to study theology at Guangdong Union Theological College, from which he graduated in 1929. Soon after his return, Chow was ordained by BC Conference within The United Church of Canada in 1931. As an ordained minister, he served pastorates in Cranbrook (1932-1934), Victoria (1934-1945), Vancouver (1945-1955), and Edmonton (1955-1964), retiring to Vancouver in 1964. While he was serving the Chinese United Church in Vancouver, the Canadian government lifted the Chinese Exclusion Act (1947); Chow was instrumental in beginning night school classes at the church, to help newcomers learn English.
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.
The Rev. Robert James Wilson, M.A., D.D., (1872-1941) was a Presbyterian and United Church minister and administrator. He was born on June 14, 1872 near Bond Head, Ontario, to James, a teacher turned farmer, and Agnes Robinson Wilson. He attended Bradford High School before studying at the University of Toronto, where he earned a B.A. in 1900, an M.A. in 1901, and finally a divinity degree from Knox College. In 1914, Knox College would also grant him an honourary Doctor of Divinity. He was ordained in the Presbytery of Westminster, British Columbia in 1903, and was called to serve as the minister for St. Andrew's Church, Vancouver. In 1918, he was called to Chalmers Presbyterian Church in Kingston, Ontario. A prominent supporter of church union, he was appointed in 1923 to take charge of publicity for the union movement, which necessitated a move to Toronto. He served as the Secretary of the Bureau of Literature and Information under the Joint Committee on Church Union and The United Church of Canada, stepping down in 1929. He was then called to serve as the minister at College Street United Church in Toronto, where he eventually retired in 1939. Wilson was also at different times involved with the Social Service Council of Ontario, serving as its president in the mid-1920s, and the St. Christopher Settlement House. Wilson was married to Mary Northway and had four children: John, Isabel, Nancy, and Florence. He died on September 10, 1941 at the age of 69.
Princess Street Methodist Church was subsequently known as Central Methodist Church (1908-1916), when Vancouver's Princess Street was changed to Pender Street.
Previously known as Princess Street Methodist Church (1888-1908), Central Methodist subsequently became known as the Turner Institute (1916-1925).
First United Church has its roots in First Presbyterian Church (organized in 1885) and Princess Street Methodist Church (begun in 1888). The two congregations were involved in mission work very early on, and performed joint outreach projects since the early 1900s. By the time of the First World War, the national mission boards of both churches put the two congregations under their control in order that the mission work could continue. Princess Street Methodist Church, which had become Central Methodist Church in 1908, became the Turner Institute in 1916.
First United Church in Vancouver was established in 1925 through the amalgamation of First Presbyterian Church and the Turner Institute. The amalgamated congregation chose to meet in the Presbyterian Church building, which had been erected in 1892 at the corner of Gore and Hastings Streets. The minister, referred to as Superintendent, served as pastor to the congregation and had oversight of mission operations.
After church union, the old Turner Institute building was used for First United's Welfare department, later known as Welfare Industries. The Rev. J. Richmond Craig, who had served as Superintendent of First Presbyterian Church from 1921, helped establish Welfare Industries, as well as Camp Fircom, and the congregation's radio ministry. Welfare Industries was organized to provide employment, training, rehabilitation and opportunity for those unable to find employment in normal industries. Camp Fircom was established on Gambier Island as a fresh air camp for mothers and children. The Rev. Andrew Roddan is another significant Superintendent (1930-1948), who saw the mission through the Depression and war years. The original Presbyterian Church building was torn down in 1964 and the present building opened in 1965 at the same spot.
Welfare service work and advocacy programs have been the central components of the mission. Over the years, First United Church has mainly addressed the needs of the homeless, the unemployed, and ethnic groups (including the Finnish and Japanese congregations). In 2007, the congregation was disbanded, but the mission remains active.
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.
Michael John Victor Shaver (Jack) was born in Fort William, Ontario, in 1918 to the Rev. and Mrs. James M. Shaver. He grew up in the manse next door to All Peoples' Mission in Winnipeg's North End. He attended United College in Winnipeg and, following ordination in 1942, served charges in rural Ontario and Manitoba, then Fort Gary United Church in Winnipeg (1952-1959). In 1959, he moved with his wife, Dorothy, and their children to Vancouver, where he served as the very first university chaplain for the United Church (UBC, 1959-1969). Shaver worked for the Metropolitan Council of the Lower Mainland in the early 1970s, then on the staff of First United Church, where he spent the final ten years of his ministry, retiring in 1982. Shaver received two honorary doctorates; from the University of Winnipeg (1980) and the Vancouver School of Theology (1982).
Wilson Heights United Church was founded as Wilson Road Methodist Church. The church was built in 1910. The membership grew quickly, and a new church was built and dedicated in March 1912. This church was named Wilson Heights Methodist Church. In 1925 the congregation came into church union, and was renamed Wilson Heights United Church. A new church was built and opened in 1958. In 1995 Vancouver-South Presbytery established a three point Collingwood - Fraserview - Wilson Heights United Pastoral Charge, but all three met and worshipped at the Wilson Heights church building. In 1998 the Pastoral Charge name was changed back to Wilson Heights, and it was recognized as a one point Charge. The congregation amalgamated with Oakridge United Church on January 1, 2023.
The first United Church Chaplain, Rev. M.J.V. Shaver, was appointed to the University of British Columbia after its creation by BC Conference in 1959. An interdenominational committee, the Anglican-United Joint Chaplaincy Committee, was formed in 1969, through the BC Conference Committee on Church and State in Education, to begin the process of creating a joint chaplaincy at UBC. In 1970 the Anglican United Campus Ministry (AUCM) was created. In 1974, the AUCM and the UBC Student Christian Movement (SCM) merged to form the Cooperative Christian Campus Ministry (CCCM) at the University of British Columbia. In 1979, the SCM left the CCCM and the United Church and Anglican Church continued to operate campus ministry at UBC through the CCCM. In 1986, the CCCM was dissolved and the partnership between the United Church and Anglican Church at UBC ended. Later that year, after a brief period without a United Church campus chaplain, the United Church Campus Ministry (UCCM) at UBC was formed. In 2021, Campus Ministry at UBC became a part of Pacific Mountain Regional Council through the formation of Campus United.
Eric Winston Austin was born in Northwich, England on August 27, 1906. His family came to Canada in 1910. After graduating from medical school in 1932, he was employed for a short time at Large Memorial Hospital in Bella Bella with Dr. George Darby, and then on board the Thomas Crosby III (1932-1938) with Rev. Robert C. Scott. Dr. Austin subsequently became a physician at Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton (1938-1942). From 1942 until the end of the Second World War, he served the Royal Army Medical Corps. At war's end, he became a surgeon for the Vancouver Military Hospital, then for Vancouver General Hospital, and in later years had a private practice. Dr. Austin married his second wife, Mary Louise Hannah (nee Reid), in 1978. The couple were members of Shaughnessy Heights United Church in Vancouver. Eric Austin died on August 8, 1994.
Rodney M. Booth was born in Arvida, Quebec. He obtained a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological College (UTC). He was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from UTC. Booth was ordained by Montreal-Ottawa Conference in 1957 and served congregations in Nakusp (1957-1959) and East Trail (1960-1966). He became the first Director of Student Affairs at Selkirk College, Castlegar in 1966. The following year, he became Director of Broadcasting for BC Conference, pioneering the church's venture into television. In 1984, he moved to Toronto to serve as Media Director/Executive Producer of United Church Television with the National Division of Communication. Booth was Chairperson of the World Council of Churches' Communicators' Network, and over the years provided resources and media coverage for three Assemblies. He also participated in co-productions of documentaries with the BBC, NBC, and CBC, and earned numerous international awards for his writing and documentaries. Booth retired to Surrey, B.C. in 1999 and continued consulting in the field of broadcasting and communications for several years.
(日本語版は以下に記載) (Japanese version below)
Yoshinosuke Yoshioka was born in Sasebo, Japan in 1889. He graduated in 1912 from Kwansei Gakuin University at Shizuoka, Japan, and was baptized within the Christian church in 1914. Yoshioka married Hisa Misaki (1890-1975), then a primary school teacher, in Shizuoka, Japan, where they lived until they left for Canada. In 1921, he was ordained in the Methodist Church. He served the Steveston Methodist Church from 1922 to 1925. This was followed by an appointment at the Japanese Mission on Powell Street in Vancouver (1925-1926). He completed theological studies at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, and earned Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees. In 1929, he was called to the mission at the Japanese United Church in Kelowna, British Columbia, where he served until 1952. He went on to serve in Lethbridge, Alberta, where he died May 26, 1956.
The Yoshiokas had two sons, Edward and James. Edward Yoshioka was born in 1923. He attended Victoria University and Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. Having been ordained in 1947, he served as a United Church of Canada minister in several locations across Canada and as a missionary in Trinidad. He died in 1990. James Yoshioka was born in 1925. He earned a medical doctor's degree from the University of Toronto in 1949; thereafter he practiced medicine in Montreal, Quebec, and Oakville and Toronto, Ontario until he retired.
履歴 :
吉岡芳之助は1889年に佐世保市にて生まれた。1912年に関西学院大学を卒業。1914年に洗礼を受け、キリスト教に改宗。静岡在住時に小学校教員のミサキヒサ (1890年-1975年) と結ばれる。1921年にメソジスト教会より牧師に叙階されると、翌年にカナダに赴任。1925年までスティーブストン (英: Steveston) 日本人メソジスト教会にて仕えた。1925年-1926年パウエルストリートの日本人ミッションに参加した後にトロント大学のエマニュエルカレッジに入学。神学を専攻し、学士号と修士号を習得した。1929年より23年間ケロナ市 (英: Kelowna) 、ブリティッシュコロンビア州の日系人合同教会にて仕える。後にアルバータ州のレスブリッジ市の教会に赴任した。1956年5月26日没。
吉岡家は二人の息子に恵まれた。長男の吉岡エドワード(1923年出)はヴィクトリア大学(英: Victoria University)及びトロント大学のエマニュエルカレッジを卒業し、1947年に牧師として叙階された後、国内のいくつかのカナダ合同教会の牧師として勤めた。また、トリニダードにおいて宣教活動も行った。1990年没。
次男の吉岡ジェームズ(1925出)は1949年に医師の学位を習得。ケベック州のモントリオール、オンタリオ州のオークヴィル市(英:Oakville)とトロント市で引退まで働いた。
David Peng was born in Guangdong, China. He pursued theological studies at Union Theological College of Lingnan University and graduated in 1944. He came to the United States in 1947, serving the Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. In 1955, he was called to the Chinese United Church in Vancouver, and was ordained by BC Conference in The United Church of Canada the following year. Under his leadership, the Vancouver congregation became self-supporting. Peng returned to the Chinese Presbyterian Church in San Francisco in 1959.
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.
Vancouver East District was created in 1910 when Vancouver Districted was divided into East and West districts.
Vancouver West District was created in 1910 when Vancouver District was divided into East and West districts.
(中文版喺下面) (中文版在下面) Rev. Fong Dickman, originally known as FONG Tak Man, was born in 1860 in Yan Ping, Kwangtung [Canton or Guangdong], China. He came to Canada in 1884 to seek a better life. Initially Mr. Fong made a living by driving stagecoaches between Vancouver and New Westminster, B.C. While attending a mission school at night, first in New Westminster and subsequently in Vancouver, Fong developed a keen interest in Christianity. He was baptized at the Princess Street Methodist Church in Vancouver, and appointed to the Chinese Methodist Church in Nanaimo in 1898 as a missionary at large. At that time, his name was Anglicized to “Dickman.” In 1906, Fong Dickman was transferred to Vancouver to set up and produce the Wa-Ying Yat-Po, (华英日报, the Chinese-English [or Chinese-Canadian] Daily Newspaper, 1906-1909), one of the very early (if not the first) newspapers in the Chinese language published in Canada. After 25 years of service, Fong Dickman was ordained by the Methodist Church of Canada in 1923. During his lifetime, he served in pastoral ministry at Nanaimo (1898-1906 and 1913-1921), Vancouver (1906-1913), New Westminster (1922-1930), and Edmonton (1930-1939). Rev. Fong Dickman retired in 1939, living in New Westminster until 1942, then residing in Vancouver from 1943 until his death on April 10, 1946.
Fong Dickman married Jane Chang in Victoria in 1899, and the couple had four daughters: Lavina Fong Dickman, who later became Lavina Cheng; Esther Fong Dickman; Anna Fong Dickman, who became Anna Lam; and Mary Fong Dickman (who died at a very young age). Aside from their loyal assistance with the church work, Anna was the first Chinese Canadian to become a registered nurse in B.C. and Esther, a school teacher in Vancouver. Mrs. Fong Dickman died in 1927. Beyond missionary work, Rev. Fong Dickman enjoyed creative writing, featuring early Chinese immigrants from his pastoral perspective. Rev. Fong Dickman was a philanthropist, who was noted to have supported a missionary in the city of Fat Shaan in Fong Dickman’s native province in south China.
Traditional Chinese:
Rev. Fong Dickman，原名馮德文(Fong, Tak Man)，1860年出生於中國廣東恩平。他於 1884 年來到加拿大尋求更好的生活。馮先生起初在Vancouver 和 New Westminster之間以駕駛驛馬廂車為生。 晚間, 先在New Westminster，爾後在 Vancouver, B.C., 就讀教會學校習英文。其間對基督教產生了濃厚的興趣。他在溫哥華的公主街衛理公會教堂受洗，並於1898 年被任命為傳教士前往納奈莫的中國衛理公會任職。同時他的名字被英化為Dickman。 1906 年，Fong Dickman 被調往溫哥華，組織並創辦了《華英日報》（the Chinese English Daily Newspaper,1906-1909). 這是最早的（如果不是第一的話）在加拿大出版的中文基督教報紙之一。為教會工作了 25 年後，Fong Dickman 於 1923 年受封立為牧師。在他的一生中，他在納奈莫 (1898-1906 和 1913-1921)、溫哥華 (1906-1913)、新威斯敏斯特 (1922-1930) 和埃德蒙頓 (1930-1939) 擔任牧師職務。Rev. Fong Dickman於 1939 年退休，直到 1942 年他住在不列顛哥倫比亞省的New Westminster市。從 1943 年開始住在Vancouver, B.C. 直到 1946 年4月10日離世。
一八九九（1899) 年，Rev. Fong Dickman 迎娶了維多利亞的Jane Chang小姐，他們育有四個女兒：Lavina Fong Dickman (後來成為 Lavina Cheng); Esther Fong Dickman；Anna Fong Dickman(後來成為了 Anna Lam)；以及Mary Fong Dickman (不幸英年早逝)。除了他們對教會工作的忠誠協助外，安娜是第一位成為卑詩省註冊護士的華裔加拿大人。 Esther 是溫哥華的一名學校老師。Fong Dickman 夫人於 1927 年去世。除了傳教工作之外，Rev. Fong Dickman 還喜歡創作，從他的宗教信仰角度描繪早期的中國移民。Rev. Fong Dickman是一位慈善家。他以有限的薪水資助過他故鄉的一名傳教士。
Simplified Chinese:
Rev. Fong Dickman，原名冯德文(Fong, Tak Man)，1860年出生于中国广东恩平。他于 1884 年来到加拿大寻求更好的生活。冯先生起初在Vancouver 和 New Westminster之间以驾驶驿马廂车为生。 晚间, 先在New Westminster，尔后在 Vancouver, B.C., 就读教会学校习英文。其间对基督教产生了浓厚的兴趣。他在温哥华的公主街卫理公会教堂受洗，并于1898 年被任命为传教士前往纳奈莫的中国卫理公会任职。同时他的名字被英化为Dickman。 1906 年，Fong Dickman 被调往温哥华，组织并创办了《华英日报》（the Chinese English [Chinese-Canadian) Daily Newspaper,1906-1909). 这是最早的（如果不是第一的话）在加拿大出版的中文报纸之一。为教会工作了 25 年后，Fong Dickman 于 1923 年受封立为牧师。在他的一生中，他在纳奈莫 (1898-1906 和 1913-1921)、温哥华 (1906-1913)、新威斯敏斯特 (1922-1930) 和埃德蒙顿 (1930-1939) 担任牧师职务。Rev. Fong Dickman于 1939 年退休，直到 1942 年他住在不列颠哥伦比亚省的New Westminster市。从 1943 年开始住在Vancouver, B.C. 直到 1946 年4月10日离世。
一八九九（1899) 年，Rev. Fong Dickman 迎娶了维多利亚的Jane Chang小姐，他们育有四个女儿：Lavina Fong Dickman (后来成为 Lavina Cheng); Esther Fong Dickman；Anna Fong Dickman(后来成为了 Anna Lam)；以及Mary Fong Dickman (不幸英年早逝)。除了他们对教会工作的忠诚协助外，安娜是第一位成为卑诗省注册护士的华裔加拿大人。 Esther 是温哥华的一名学校老师。Fong Dickman 夫人于 1927 年去世。除了传教工作之外，Rev. Fong Dickman 还喜欢创作，从他的宗教信仰角度描绘早期的中国移民。Rev. Fong Dickman是一位慈善家。他以有限的薪水资助过他故乡的一名传教士，
The first interdenominational ministerial association in Vancouver was established in 1888. Besides providing fellowship for ministers from most Christian denominations, the association soon became active as a moral watchdog and lobby group in the city of Vancouver and surrounding area. The group's concerns included evangelism, prohibition, labour and unemployment, health and sanitation, the peace movements and war efforts, and religious instruction in public schools.
In 1958 the congregations of Zion United and Trinity United amalgamated under the name Trinity-Zion United Church. They congregated at the Trinity United location on East 7th Avenue, until a new building was erected. In 1962 the new building at 12th Avenue and Semlin Drive was dedicated, and the congregation was renamed Lakeview United Church.
The Japanese Methodist Mission was established in Vancouver in 1896. It joined The United Church of Canada in 1925.
In 1921, the SCM of Canada was created. It was formed through student departments in the YMCA and YWCA as well as local Student Christian Associations. In 1926, The Student Christian Movement of Canada, University of British Columbia Branch (SCM, UBC) officially became a member of the Student Christian Movement of Canada. In 1974, the Anglican-United Campus Ministry and SCM, UBC amalgamated to form the Cooperative Christian Campus Ministry (CCCM) at UBC. In 1979, the SCM, UBC left the CCCM; campus ministry continued at UBC through the CCCM and later, United Church Campus Ministry.