By Bill Smirle, April 2025
Christ Church United was officially started in 2013. It was comprised of the members of Morewood United Church that had recently closed and members of Trinity United Church in Chesterville. Since its inception there have been two regular ministers: Pastor Debbie Poirier until she retired in 2022; Rev. Blair Paterson who started here March 01, 2024, and continues to be our minister.
Previous to 2013, our two churches had a forty-seven year history of working and worshipping together, as a “Joint Charge” in 1966, when each of them was in the process of searching for a new minister.
Rev. Ferguson led us through the “challenges” of learning to work together as a “joint charge” and Rev. Wright Mackenzie supported us as major decisions were made: closing Morewood United; moving what could be kept and used by the “new” church in Chesterville; selling unneeded furniture and equipment; selling the Morewood Church; changing the name of Trinity United to Christ Church United to be better representative of a new Congregation. Each of these many activities took time, soul-searching, hard-decisions, and very often angry-feelings,as you all know that change is extremely difficult for most of us, old traditions take a while to be forgotten and new traditions take time to be accepted.
During those years our ministers were:
Rev. L.M. Ferguson (1966-85);
Rev. Roy Harwood (1986-2000);
Rev. Don Smith (supply);
Rev. Peter Pransma(supply);
Rev. Doug Carnegie (interim 2002-2004);
Rev. Mary Lou Shortill (2004-2006) and
Rev. Wendy Wright MacKenzie (2007-2013).
As with any major change, not all members from Morewood United Church (Morewood and rural area, Crysler and area as well as throughout our district) started attending the new Christ Church United in Chesterville. Most did go to Chesterville, but for various reasons, a number of Morewood Members decided to attend other churches. As mentioned earlier, change itself instigates further change.
Going back in our history, Trinity United Church, Chesterville was built as a Methodist Church from 1907-1909 and was dedicated in 1909. In the early 1920’s, the United Church of Canada was formed by an Act of Parliament and officially started in 1925. It was to include Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians. There were no Congregationalists in our area, and part way through the process about thirty percent of the Presbyterians decided that they wished to remain Presbyterians, so the new United Church of Canada in our area was made up of seventy percent of the Presbyterians and the Methodists. In 1925, Trinity Methodist Church, Chesterville became Trinity United Church, Chesterville.
The United Church Ministers who served in Chesterville from 1925-1966 were:
Rev. Arthur E. Runnells, B.D. (1906-10);
Rev. W.H. Stevens (1910-14);
Rev. H.E. Warren, M.A., B.D. (1914-18);
Rev. J.B. Hicks (1918-20);
Rev. W.T. Brown (1920-24);
Rev. Roy M. Pounder, M.A., D/Th. (1924-27);
Rev. R. E. Newman (1927-34);
Rev. R.C. Tait (1934-43);
Rev. W.E. Wright(1943-51);
Rev. R.A. Mitchell, B.Sc., B.D. (1951-56);
Rev. E.B. Budgen, B.A., B.D. (1957-66).
Many ministers from various Faiths served faithfully and well in the various churches in the Chesterville and Morewood areas from the late 1700’s until 1925. I have named only those who served the United Churches. I will briefly comment on religion in our areas during these years.
During the earliest years, Circuit Riders, usually from the United States, visited on a regular basis to conduct services. Our religious history started at the St. Lawrence River where the first settlements were built, and gradually moved north to our area. As time went on buildings for regular services were established, at first in homes, schools or sheds – until Churches were built. In its earliest history, Chesterville was called Armstrongs Mills, then Winchester and finally Chesterville.
The Protestant faith in Dundas County has a long and interesting history. The Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches worked hard to bring religious leadership to their groups. In 1845 a committee was formed to build the first Methodist Chapel at Armstrongs Mills and in 1848 this area was known as the “Winchester Circuit”. The local Presbyterians (Chesterville & Morewood) were being organized during this time period. An Episcopal Methodist Church was built before 1850, and the Canada Methodist Church was built in the 1860’s. After the Methodist Union in 1884, these buildings were demolished and a new brick church was constructed. About 25 years later this church was demolished and replaced by Trinity Church in 1907-09, our current United Church.
Catholicism was also growing in our area and the current Roman Catholic Church was built at Armstrongs Corners in 1851.
As in Chesterville, the new Morewood United Church would be made up of about seventy percent of the Presbyterians and the Methodists. The decision at Morewood was to build a new United Church. Two local contractors – Emerson Faulkner and Hector Carruthers (whose families still live in the area and attend our church) undertook the task and the new church was completed and dedicated in 1926.
Ministers were:
Rev. Roy P. Stafford (1925-29);
Rev. R. P. Armstrong (1929-32);
Rev. G. H. Smith (1932-36);
Rev. J. Macaskill (1936-41);
Rev. T. A. Woods (1942-44);
Rev. E. A. Martineau (1945-47);
Rev. W. J. Copsey (1948-50);
Rev. D. L. Gordon (1951-1965).
The history of religion, and the churches in Morewood and area pre-1925 is also interesting. In the late 1700’s/early 1800’s, the North Dundas area was surveyed and land was granted to various groups of new settlers who were now moving farther north of the St. Lawrence River to these heavily wooded areas, cutting trees, building homes, starting farms as well as establishing associated industries and stores to support the new residents. These new settlers were: soldiers who had served in the British Army to protect this British land; a good number were United Empire Loyalists (families who did not wish to remain in the United States after the American Revolution as they were still loyal to England); families from other European Countries and Native Canadians.
Religion was important to them and they held Bible readings and religious discussions in their homes with neighbours and friends. Many of them were Methodists and Methodist Circuit Riders on horseback – usually from the Northern United States – would visit three or four times a year for a week or two, conducting services in homes, sheds and barns or schools (if they had been built). While visiting they were quite busy with official services, weddings, baptisms and funerals. Actually there were three main religious groups: European Presbyterians, European Wesleyan Methodists and United Empire Episcopal Methodists, who over time often affiliated with the other groups.
In the Morewood area, many of the European Methodists lived west of Morewood and most of the United Empire Loyalists lived east of Morewood. Those west of Morewood had land at the south of Morewood, built a small, white clapboard church there – with a grave yard and had the first burials there in the 1840’s. Those east of Morewood regularly met for services in homes or sheds.
In 1870, the area Presbyterians built a grey stone church about a mile east of Morewood and established a graveyard around it. This church and graveyard are both active and well-used today.
The two Methodist groups had “different views” but in the 1870’s they decided to join-up. They built a beautiful red brick Methodist church that was officially dedicated in 1875, about a mile east of Morewood, almost across the road from the Presbyterian Church. The Methodist Cemetery in Morewood now became the main Cemetery for all local Methodists.
It is interesting to note that the amalgamation of the Morewood area Methodists was ahead of its time as Canadian Methodists groups officially became the Methodists of Canada in 1984.
When the United Church of Canada was being established, the Methodists joined, and the Presbyterians decide to split up, thirty percent remaining as Presbyterians and seventy percent joining the new United Church of Canada in 1925.
As the new United Church of Canada was being built in Morewood in the early 1920’s, the Methodists decided that they would demolish their beautiful 50 year old church and use the material in the new Morewood Church. They felt that letting it remain standing would always cause regrets so “down-it-came”.
The Methodist Cemetery in Morewood now became the United Church of Canada Cemetery. When the Morewood and Chesterville United Churches amalgamated in 2013, the Morewood United Cemetery became the responsibility of Christ Church United in Chesterville.
I have researched various sources from the records of both Trinity and Morewood as well as other resources for the information in this history and I believe that ithas been correctly interpreted and detailed.
Bill Smirle
