HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1972-06-28, Page 46the re-opening, the congregation
held services in St. Angli-
can Church.
In Jnne, 1925, the Brussels
Methodist Church went Into Union
and became part of the Uslted,
Church of Canada and has since
been known as the prussels Unit-
ed Church.
During the years, the congre
i
-
gation Sunday School, and other
organi zations have carried on and
continued to function in the norm,
al manner., The various anniver-
saries, such as the 50th, 60th and
'7.5th, have all been celebrated
with special services, former
Ministers as gUest speakers,
banquOtt and birthday cakes. Sev-
eral changes and additions to the
. :church facilities have taken place
in, recent years which have Adcle'ci
to the comfort and convenience
of all. concerned. 11190e worthy
of Special mention are; a Set
of ..three pulpit chairs prSaented,
by the Gerry family, the installa,
tign .of the present kitchen and
washrooms, the purchase of the
electric organ, the new oil heat-.
ing system, the worship centre
in the Sunday ,School room And
`the latest improvement the ear-
pOed floor in the basement.
The church building ...as it
stands: today, in much the 'same
form as when erected, has serv-.
ed .the needs of the. congregation
for nearly a century and the mem-
bers are looking forward to cele-
Orating the 100th anniversary
1976.
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charge Of the renovations which
'consisted of lowering the ceiling
in the auditoriuM, inclining the
floor and placing the.eorner pul-
pit! with , choir loft at the side.
The late• Richard .Leatherdale of •
Winnipeg, a former member of
the church, made and presented
the ,pulpit which is still in use
today. The Leaded-glass,window
as well as the memorial window
as they are today, were installed
by the Robert McCa.usl.a.nd Co. of
Toronto. The church! was re-
opened on. November 23, 1924,
with special services. During
the interval between the fire and
CONGRATULATIONS
to
THE VILLAGE
OF BRUSSELS
•
/ KEITH
FITZSIMMI NS
BROKER
REAL E S `TAME
UPNNIGNIONftATIOR/S • 357'11117
many
happy returns
to a
good friend
FOr many of its long and memorable years we
have served the townspeople of Brussels and the
surrounding district.
It has been our privilege to deposit your savings,
issue your guaranteed investment certificates,
loan you money in mortgages, provide you
safety doeposit boxes,, act as custodian in your
financial affairs and promote your interest in
any way we , could.
So, today, as no stranger in your midst, we
feel very much a part of your celebration when
we say with your other many friends
"Happy Birthday to Brussels".
VG
IICTORI4and GREY
TRUST COMPANY . SINCE 1889
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
PEPSI
to Brussels
United. . Ch urch eld first services .in. area reside:ntes
By 14orman S„ Hoover
As far back as 1:055 an Pc-
eaSiOnal travelling minister or
saddle - back Preacher of the
Methodist Church used to call in
the, neighbourhood of Brussels,
(then called Ainleyville and Ding-
le Post Office). The •first ser-
vices were held in the home of
Mr. Thos. Johnston on what is
now the 10th concession of Grey
Township, but because the fami-
lies were few and scattered over
a large ,area the gatherings were
small.
In 185'7, the first regularly .'
appointed minister, Rev. Isaac
Crane, became head of the Mis-
sion and took up residence in an
old log church on the 9th con-
cession of Grey. Services were
held there and sometimes in the
log school house or in the old
Orange Hall on Mill Street.
Afterwards, the meetings were
held in a house owned by Mr.
Dick on Elizabeth Street south of
the present arena.
In 1859, the congregation pur-
chased 1/2 acre of land on the
same street trona Thos. Hallida.y
and built a parsonage on it for
the minister. The same- year,
the first Sunday School was or-
ganized with Ben Gerry as the
first superintendent , a position
he held for 19 years. In 1881,
W.H.Kerr, became superinten-
dent and served in that capacity
continuously for over 44 years.
As the congregation grew,
much thought was given to having
a more permanent place of wor-
ship and in 1860 work bees were
organized and timber and mater-
ial prepared to 'build a church
which was to be 36 feet square.
Ben Gerry was the contractor.
Because of hard times, the build-
ing was not completed immed-
iately. In 1866, an organ was
installed in the church and the
first choir organized with Miss
Charlotte Pearson as organist
and Mr. Gerry as leader. The
present congregation 's oldest
living member, Mrs. Dr. Hamil-
ton (the former Ida Bailey) now'
97, was one of the early organ-
ists and served faithfully in that
position for 40 years, retiring
in 1933.
During this early period,
there had been two branches of
the Methodist Church active in
the community, the Wesleyan and
the New Connexion. These two
bodies now united to form the
Methodist Church of Canada. The
result of this union, locally, was
that the Brussels Methodist
Church came into possession of
the Cemetery consisting of 4 3/4
acres 1 1/4 miles south of the
village. The cemetery has since
been greatly enlarged but it is
still under the direction of the
Brussels United Church.
In 1875, the congregation
bought a brick cottage on the'
corner of John and King Streets
to serve as a home for the minis-
ter as the old parsonage on Eliz-
abeth was no longer suitable. .
This dwelling was used till 1900
when it was torn down and the ,
present manse was built by D.A.
Lowry.
In 1876, the adjoining land
east of the manse on King Street
was purchased and the erection
of a new church biiilding was
commenced. The new church
of brick and stone construction
was built by M.A.Burns of Brant-
ford at a cost of $11,000. and was
officially opened on January 11,
1877. Rev. C.E.Stafford was the
minister.
The thirtieth anniversary was
held in October, 1906 with special
services. At this celebration,
the raising of $1200 and the burn-
ing of the Mortgage was an his
oric event.
i,The church was badly wreck-
by fire on the night of March
1924. Fire of undetermined
origin started in the woodshed
beneath the choir loft and spread
to the auditorium which was ser-
iously damaged. Fire insurance
received amounted to $9,914,
which with the exception to turn-
M
1:0.140fs donated and the War
emorial Window which was fin-
sineed by subscription, almost
restored the church building to'
its present form. Wm Eiserman
of Mitchell was the contractor in
2./a..,-THE BRUSSELS POST, JUNE 28,
Ff
on your 100th birthday
Tuckey Beverages Ltd
EXETER, ONTARIO
Authorized Bottlers of Pepsi-Cola and Kist Products
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