Photo credit: Rod Brazier
As the Atherley United Church celebrates its 115th anniversary this year, a congregation member takes a look back at the history of the church.
They worked hard all that summer of 1895. We can picture farmers hurrying away after morning milking, to work for a few hours as they waited for the hay to be dry enough to cut; businessmen might have a quick supper in order to work through the long hours of early dusk, all working cheerfully under the direction of the architect and the stone mason.
Labouring with the unsophisticated tools of the day, they were building a dream, those Atherley Methodists.
The previous year they had collected $115 to purchase the plot of land on the corner of Balsam Road and Courtland Street. There they would build a church and a Sunday school for their children. Now they were determined to have the building ready for the beginning of the school year. And they did. On Sept. 12, 1895, the Atherley Methodist Church was officially dedicated. Descendants of some of the founding fathers still worship in the church today.
In those early days of strict Sabbath laws and large families, the church became a thriving centre both spiritually and socially. We can only imagine the despair when the tall, “straight and narrow” steeple was destroyed in a hurricane in 1908. The steeple was rebuilt to a lesser height, but the congregation continued to increase, to a total, in 1931, of 239 souls with 69 children in the Sunday School.
Through the war years and the Great Depression, the church proved to be “a very present help in time of trouble.” After the Second World War, times changed and families changed as well. The strict Lord’s Day laws relaxed and Sunday became more of a day of recreation. For a while, there were still active groups and organizations for all ages.
In 1925 there was a great union of churches, and the Atherley Methodist Church became the Atherley United Church. In 2010, we celebrate the 85th anniversary of the United Church of Canada as well as our own 115th anniversary.
The building itself has undergone many changes and improvements, many of which were funded by generous financial donations as well as hard work. Gifts of beauty, such as the Good Shepherd stained glass window, the communion table and baptismal font have been donated in memory of loved ones. When the Udney United Church closed, many of its memorial treasures found a new home in Atherley.
From time to time, Atherley has worshipped in partnership with other local churches, including Fairvalley, Udney, Uptergrove and Brechin. At present, Atherley and Brechin form a two-point charge under the leadership of Reverend Robin Thomson, the latest in a line of 33 ministers ably supported by 14 volunteers at the organ or piano.
The steeple required repairs and was again reduced in height in 1988.
Like our steeple, our congregation is aging and ailing, and steadily reducing in size. On any given Sunday, attendance may be fewer than 20, and our Sunday School has become a matter of “where two or three are gathered.” Gone are the formal meetings of United Church Women and the groups devoted to youth and children, yet there is still a will to keep the doors open and the church community alive.
As we celebrate this 115th anniversary year, special events each month offer food and fellowship. The Century of Bridal Gowns and Wedding Theme weekend in June gave us an opportunity to look back on our heritage.
More events are in store, with the main event being our 115th anniversary service on Sunday, Sept. 12th at 11a.m.
This article was originally published in the Ramara Chronicle in July 2010.
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