St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
St. Andrew's belongs to The Presbyterian Church in Canada and confesses faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: the Father as Creator, Christ, fully divine and fully human, as Redeemer whose death and resurrection established God's kingdom, and the Spirit who strengthens believers and gives gifts for God's work. The congregation holds that people bear God's image but have broken relationship with God, that Jesus came to offer reconciliation, that the Bible points to Christ and teaches Christian living, and that humanity's highest purpose is to glorify God and enjoy relationship with God forever.
St. Andrew’s is the oldest congregation in Fergus, established in December 1834, barely a year after the town was founded. In 1845 the Disruption that split the Church of Scotland reached Fergus, and the minister, Rev. George Smellie, most of the elders and a large majority of the members left St. Andrew’s to found Melville Church; the two congregations remain neighbours a few blocks apart.
The present church on St. George Street West was designed by architect David Murray of Guelph and built in 1862 of locally quarried stone in the Gothic Revival style (the town’s downtown walking tour dates it to 1861). It is a stop on the self-guided walking tour of downtown Fergus, and its history page on the church website notes that fuller historical material is still to come.
The congregation describes itself as a family of faith whose mission is to accept Jesus Christ’s love, embrace his teaching and share him near and far. Ministries include a youth group for grades 6 to 12 on Monday evenings, small groups, Bible studies and prayer groups, summer camps, local community service and mission partnerships supporting education in Haiti and youth missions to El Salvador and Nicaragua. Worship is in English.
What to expect
Two Sunday services are offered: 9 a.m. with contemporary music and 11 a.m. with traditional music, with Sunday School available during the 9 a.m. service. Services are also available online through the church's YouTube channel.
About this listing
This entry has not been verified with the congregation yet. Sources: standrewsfergus.com, flickr.com, downtownfergus.com, melvilleunited.com, centrewellington.ca, en.wikipedia.org. Something wrong? Suggest an edit.