Many people have found the last five years to be difficult. That includes the congregation at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
Located at the corner of Clairmont St. and Ormond St. in downtown Thorold, St. Andrew's lost their minister to another church just as the lockdowns were getting underway. Then, the replacement minister had to leave shortly after, due to personal reasons.
Nikki Szczechura, the clerk of session for St. Andrew's, says it was very difficult, especially because it was a time when people needed the church most in their lives.
While the congregation's attendance numbers took a considerable hit during the pandemic, they are finally starting to spring back up. “People are church shopping,” Szczechura tells ThoroldToday.
Now, she says, the congregation has decided it is “time to celebrate,” and they have just the occasion: later this year, St. Andrew's will be turning 140 years old.
“It's a happy event,” Szczechura says. “It's a time when we can celebrate together and it just helps to keep the bonding.”
The Presbyterian community in Thorold is even older than the church, going back to at least 1801.
“Reverend Daniel Ward Eastman began this ministry travelling between Beaverdams and Stamford to reach the Scottish settlers,” says Szczechura.
In 1853, the Thorold mission church was run by the Knox Presbyterian Church in St. Catharines. That year, the Thorold station petitioned the Presbytery of Flamboro to be organized into a separate congregation which was granted.
At first, they met at the Town Hall, but the group quickly grew in numbers. A few months later, a building, that still stands at 17 Ormond St. N, was built and dedicated for public service in 1859.
In 1861, there was a merger between the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church. That meant the church in Thorold became connected with a denomination that eventually became known as the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1875.
Soon, the building was found to be inadequate. Szczechura says construction on a new church began in 1883 and was completed the next year, in 1884. This is the St. Andrew's that stands today.
Things were not always easy. In the 1890's, the existing manse was sold off to pay the church's debts. It was not until 1903 that another campaign began to purchase a new church manse.
In 1904, they celebrated the burning of the mortgage. In 1913, the manse began construction which was completed in 1915.
The church continued to grow over the years with renovations to update the church as needed. One of those additions included the church's Quebec-made Covenant Classic organ, now more than 50-years-old.
To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the church, there are plans for a celebratory luncheon after church service on Sunday, May 26 at 10:30 a.m.
The whole community is welcome to come out, to share memories or to check out the church. There will be a special bookmark given out to commemorate the date, and there will also be a sign installed outside the church noting its historical significance.
Szczechura says she grew up in the church before she moved away but she eventually found her way back.
“I came back and my parents were sick and so I was housebound with them until they both passed,” she says. “The first place I came back to was here. It was just like stepping back.”
The celebratory church service and luncheon will take place on Sunday, May 26 at 10:30 a.m.
