Central Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church in Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...

 congregation in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, located in the downtown area at the corner of Charlton

Charlton Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario)

Charlton Avenue, is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This collector road starts of just West of Dundurn Street as a one-way street up to James Street South where it then switches over to a two-way street the rest of the way eastward and ends at Wentworth Street South right...

 (165 Charlton Avenue West) and Caroline Street South.

History

The congregation was formed in 1841, as a part of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland

The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn united with...

's Canadian Synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

, and had been served monthly since 1837 from nearby West Flamboro

Flamborough, Ontario

Flamborough is a former town near, and a current community in, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada....

 by the UPC's pioneer missionary to the region, Thomas Christie.

The congregation first met in a former schoolhouse in downtown Hamilton, with close proximity to two larger Presbyterian congregations, St Andrew's (now St. Paul's), the large Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 congregation, and MacNab Street Presbyterian Church (Hamilton), the second "Free Church". It was rebuilt in 1858, and became known as Central Presbyterian Church after the 1875 merger and affiliation within the Presbyterian Church in Canada; the successful union proposals were inaugurated by their former pastor William Ormiston, prior to his move to New York City in 1870.

On June 21, 1906, the 1858 building was destroyed in a massive fire, and plans were commenced to rebuild in a new location; the minister's son, John M. Lyle

John M. Lyle

John MacIntosh Lyle was a Canadian architect, designer, urban planner, and teacher active in the late 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century. He was a leading Canadian architect in the Beaux Arts style and was involved in the City Beautiful movement in several Canadian cities...

, was architect of the new building, and was opened on June 14 1908, complemented with a large Casavant Frères

Casavant Frères

Casavant Frères is a prominent Canadian company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building fine pipe organs since 1879. As of 2008, they have produced over 3800 organs.- Company history :...

 pipe organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

.

In 1925, the congregation voted narrowly (381-398) to remain within the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Minister, Rev. Wiiliam Sedgewick and many members left for the United Church of Canada

United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...

.

The congregation remains active in downtown Hamilton, and is known for its music programme, its connection with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, as well as its reputation for lengthy pastorates; the Rev. Dr. Clyde Ervine, former Director of Studies at The Presbyterian College, Montreal

The Presbyterian College, Montreal

The Presbyterian College/Le Collège Presbytérien, 3495 University Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, is a Theological College of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and is affiliated with McGill University through their Faculty of Religious Studies...

was inducted on August 13, 2006 to a packed sanctuary.

List of Ministers

• Rev. James R. Dalrymple 1847-1850
• Rev. John Hogg 1851-1855
• Rev. Dr. William Ormiston 1856-1870
• Rev John McColl 1872-1876 (died)
• Rev. Dr. Samuel Lyle, 1878-1911. Moderator, PCC 1909.
• Rev William Sedgewick, 1910-1925
• Rev. Dr. William Barclay, 1926-1948. Moderator PCC, 1940.
• Rev. H. Crawford Scott 1948-1952
• Rev. Dr. A. Lorne Mackay, 1952-1980. Moderator, PCC 1976.
• Rev. Dr. Alan M. McPherson, 1980-2005. Moderator, PCC 1994.
• Rev. Dr. W.J. Clyde Ervine, August 2006-.