New Lowell United marks 150 years
New Lowell United Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary this month with a community dinner and commemorative service.
Organizers say the events will be a great time to remember and reminisce. “It is a honour for our current congregation to continue to walk in the steps of the faithful people that started a church in the community of New Lowell in 1873,” said Rose Cambourne, chair of the board of stewards. “From its humble beginnings of a small wooden structure, to surviving a devastating fire in 1909, and then the re-building of the brick building to our accessible renovations in 2016, we are striving to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ in our part of the world.”
The church’s history begins in the early 1870s when Mary Hay, wife of Robert Hay, who co-founded Jacques and Hay, a Toronto furniture manufacturer (1835-1872) that accessed timber at New Lowell, began championing the construction of a Presbyterian Church.
Mary Hay died in childbirth before construction, but the church was named the Mary Kirk in her honour, with Kirk being the Scots word for church. According to Sunnidale Looks at Yesterday, A History of Sunnidale Township, the church was first officially dedicated on July 5, 1874. “The event was cause for celebration In New Lowell,” it reads. “Robert Hay chartered a special railway car from Toronto and filled it with friends who generously donated to the church. In fact the church received enough money, including a $1,000 endowment from Robert Hay, that it was left with no worries.”
The original church was destroyed in a fire in 1909 and discussions about rebuilding began with community members committing $300 contributions, along with gifts of labour and the insurance money so that when the new church opened the following year the debt was only $200.
When it was rebuilt, all of the pews and other furnishings were built by Jacques and Hay.
A formal union of the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations took place in 1925 and since then the New Lowell United Church has undergone many improvements with much support from the community.
In 2015 the church embarked on an ambitious project to build a 1,100 square foot addition including a new entrance with power doors and a lift, a family washroom, new staircases to the sanctuary and lower level, and a common area.
The renovation was done with two goals in mind; to create a public meeting space and to make the church fully accessible.
The church remains a viable community partner.
“We support any events we can including Winterama and Small Halls Festival and work with community partners including the Girl Guides, New Lowell Branch of the Clearview Library, and the Royal Canadian Legion,” said Cambourne. “We thank the community for supporting and attending our dinners and fundraising events.”
New Lowell United Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a community dinner on Saturday, June 10 at the Royal Canadian Legion, 5357 County Road 9, New Lowell.
Doors and bar open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $25 per person. To reserve a spot, call 705-424-1476. There will be music and entertainment. Everyone welcome!
The New Lowell United Church 150th Anniversary Service will be at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 11, with Rev. Jane Sullivan and guest speaker Rev. Dr. Colin MacDonald. There will be special music, and refreshments after the service.
For more information, call Sandra Bednarek at 705-424-6497, or Rose Cambourne at 705-424-1476.
