Zion United Church had its roots in the American Presbyterian Church. In 1892, a church building was opened at Princess St. and Jackson Avenue. In 1898, the congregation merged with First Presbyterian Church at Gore and Hastings (now First United). Former Zion members left and re-organized as Knox Independent Presbyterian Church, and bought the old First Presbyterian Church building at Main and Cordova Streets. In 1902, the church members entered the Congregational Church of Canada and became Knox Congregational Church. A new building was opened in 1915 at Broadway and Woodland, and the congregation changed its name to Grandview Congregational Church. The congregation entered Church Union in 1925, as Zion United Church. The Rev. Charles E. Batzold served for 23 years as its first minister. In 1958, Zion and Trinity United Church amalgamated to form Trinity-Zion United Church. The Trinity building was used until a new church could be erected, at which point the name of the congregation was changed to Lakeview United Church.
Deryl (Dal) James Michael McCrindle was born in Vancouver in 1945. He attended Union College and was among the first graduates of the Vancouver School of Theology (after Union College and Anglican Theological College amalgamated). McCrindle was ordained by B.C. Conference in 1972. He served charges in rural Manitoba (1972-1974) and Winnipeg (1974-1977) before returning to British Columbia. He continued in pastoral ministry at First United, Prince Rupert (1977-1985); St. David’s, West Vancouver (1985-1990); St. Andrew’s-Wesley, Vancouver (1990-1991); St. Giles, Vancouver (1991-1996); and St. Andrew’s (Haney), Maple Ridge (1996-2006). McCrindle served as president of BC Conference (1984-1985) and as chair of both Prince Rupert and Vancouver-Burrard presbyteries. After retirement in 2006, he continued his ministry, serving as an associate minister at West Vancouver and St. David’s United Churches and as chaplain to the Royal Canadian Legion in West Vancouver. While in the north, he was adopted by the Tsimshian community at Lax Kw’alaams and became a member of the “wolf” clan of that community.
Art Jones served as Financial Manager for BC Conference of The United Church of Canada, from 1983 until his retirement. He continued as a financial consultant for the Conference until his death in 2006.
The Committee on Church and State in Education was created in 1964 as a part of the new Division of Ministry and Education in BC Conference. In 1972, the Committee on Church and State in Education was dissolved and the Campus Ministries Committee took on its duties.
Jim Chisholm's work for The United Church of Canada is most strongly related to the Metropolitan Council of Church in the Lower Mainland, where he served as Administrator (1969-1979), and to BC Conference, where he served as Conference Administrator (1979-1983).
An interdenominational committee, the Anglican-United Joint Chaplaincy Committee, was formed in 1969, to begin the process of creating a joint chaplaincy at UBC. In 1970, the Anglican United Campus Ministry (AUCM) was created. In 1974, the AUCM joined with the UBC branch of the Student Christian Movement (SCM) to create the Cooperative Christian Campus Ministry at UBC.
Joanne Black was born April 28, 1931 in Saskatoon. She pursued theological studies at the Vancouver School of Theology and was ordained by BC Conference in 1987. She served charges in Bashaw-Mirror, Alberta (1987-1989); First United Church, Prince Rupert (1989-1995); interim at South Arm United Church, Richmond (1995-1996); and at Sharon United in Langley (1996-1997) before retiring. Jo was a life-long feminist and activist, and fought for Indigenous and LGBTQ rights. Joanne Black died on June 5, 2015.
Reginald Alfred Redman was born in northern England in 1898 and came to Canada as a child. He attended the University of British Columbia and Union College, and was ordained in 1926 by BC Conference of The United Church of Canada. During his ministry, he served the following pastoral charges: Port Alberni (1926-1929); Hatzic (1930-1931); Grace, Vancouver (1932-1936); Chilliwack United (1937-1948); First United, Vancouver (1949-1953); and Marpole, Vancouver (1955-1962). After retirement in 1962, he served as retired supply in Tsawwassen until 1965. He also served as Field Secretary (British Columbia and Alberta) for the Lord's Day Alliance in 1954-1955. Redman died December 12, 1987.
Joan Imai was a member of the Vancouver Japanese United Church English-Speaking Congregation, from 1971 until 1979. Her husband, Gordon, was the minister of the Lower Mainland Pastoral Charge of the Japanese United Church during that period. She and her husband returned to the Vancouver Japanese United Church after Gordon retired, and she remained a member until the English-Speaking Congregation closed in 2017.
Patricia and Glen Baker were married in the mid-1950s. Both served as clergy within The United Church of Canada. Glen was ordained by BC Conference in 1958, and served several congregations throughout British Columbia, including the Nisei congregation of Vancouver Japanese United Church (1957) while he was a student at Union College; Prince George Rural; McBride; Richmond-Sea Island; First United (Vancouver); and Dunbar Heights (Vancouver). Patricia was a public health nurse (1955-1962). She later studied at Vancouver School of Theology and was ordained by BC Conference in 1984. The couple served in team ministry at First United, Kelowna (1984-1993) and West Howe Sound Pastoral Charge, Sechelt (1993-1998).
Dr. Peter James Newbery was ordained as a United Church minister in 1966. He graduated from McMaster University in 1976 with a medical degree. In 1987, he became the Medical Director for United Church Health Services.
In 1953, the area south of the Oakridge neighbourhood of Vancouver was growing and the Metropolitan Council for Church Extension purchased property at 54th Avenue and Heather Street with a view to establishing a new United Church congregation there. Survey work was done in the area, and in June 1958 a congregation was constituted, and an inaugural service was held at Trinity Baptist Church, where the St. Stephen's United Church continued to meet until November 1958. In November the congregation examined the results of their survey work and decided to suspend all activities until they could find a more favourable location for their development. In June of 1960, a portable church building was erected at 52nd Avenue and Oak Street. This was the home of the newly restarted St. Stephen's congregation for three years. In November 1960, the congregation purchased new property at the corner of 54th Avenue and Granville Street. In January 1962, the congregation voted to proceed with the building project, and Presbytery endorsed this action in June. The new church building was dedicated in November 1964.
Kathleen How was born May 9, 1910 at Rouleau, Saskatchewan. She was a teacher at the Alberni Indian Residential School (1935-1937 and 1944-1947); Port Simpson (likely the Crosby Home for Girls, 1937-1940); Bella Bella (1940-1944 and 1965-1970); Kincolith (1948-1954); and Brocket, Alberta (residential school, 1954-1965). She died October 23, 1995 at Vancouver.
It is not clear from available sources when Salmo United Church was organized, although it did form part of larger Presbyterian fields before Church Union and various United Church pastoral charges after Union in 1925. A church was built ca. 1940, known also as Salmo Community Church, because other denominations used the building. Salmo was part of East Trail Pastoral Charge, 1928-1936; Ymir-Salmo Pastoral Charge, 1936-1952; and Fruitvale Pastoral Charge, 1952-1959. In 1959 Salmo became a separate charge. In 1972 it joined with Fruitvale in the Beaver Valley-Salmo Pastoral Charge. In 2003, Salmo and Beaver Valley joined charges at Trail and Rossland to form Communities in Faith Pastoral Charge. Salmo United Church disbanded on June 30, 2016.
In 1946, BC Conference Executive appointed a committee to establish a home for senior citizens in the Greater Vancouver area. The Homes for the Aged Committee secured a site on Rumble Street, beside the United Church Home for Girls on Sussex Street. Funding for the project was provided by the United Church of Canada, the provincial government, and private donations and bequests. The Conference appointed a Board of Directors in 1949; it was registered under the British Columbia Societies Act in 1960. Several standing committees were established at the outset, including Building, Admissions, Furnishings, Executive, and Fund Raising committees. Also established early on was a Fair Haven Auxiliary (1950), which functions primarily to add to the comfort and welfare of residents and to assist with raising funds. The Fair Haven main lodge was dedicated in May 1950. A second site was developed in Vancouver in 1961, and is situated between East 48th and 49th Avenues. Both facilities have been redeveloped over the decades.
In 1861, the Presbyterian Church of Ireland sent a missionary to British Columbia. After months of travel throughout the colony, he organized "First Presbyterian Church of Vancouver Island" in Victoria in February, 1862. Initial services were held in various halls, until the church was opened in October, 1863 at Pandora and Blanshard. Difficulties arose in 1866, leading to the founding of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and the closure of First Presbyterian Church from 1867 to 1876. In 1882, the First Presbyterian congregation joined the Presbyterian Church in Canada. It was burned in a fire in 1883, but rebuilt the same year, and expanded in 1890. In 1913, a new church school hall at Quadra and Fisgard was completed; the congregation vacated the church and met at the school hall. The cornerstone for a new church building at that site was laid in September 1914, and the building was completed and dedicate in May 1915. The First Presbyterian Church congregation entered the United Church of Canada in 1925, becoming First United Church.
Greenwood Pastoral Charge began as the result of Presbyterian and Methodist activity. The Kettle River Mission had been opened in 1890 and reopened in 1893 by the Presbyterian Church; by 1896, mission stations had been opened up at both Greenwood and Midway. By 1920, Greenwood and Midway had been combined into one field. The congregation at Greenwood was called St. Columba Presbyterian Church and continued as the central point in the Greenwood field. The Methodists opened work in Greenwood in 1899, which was variously combined with activity carried on at nearby Phoenix. In 1925, the local Methodist and Presbyterian bodies entered church union without a vote, at which point the combined congregation at Greenwood became St. Columba United Church. Since union, Greenwood Pastoral Charge has consisted of various congregations and preaching points, including Midway, Kettle Valley, Beaverdell, Bridesville, Rock Creek and others. Due to declining membership, the congregation disbanded as of January 1, 2017.
Arthur (Art) Anderson was ordained as a minister within the United Church of Canada by BC Conference in 1959. He was settled to Williams Lake, where he served until 1960. Anderson also served the following pastoral charges within BC: Oak Avenue, Surrey (1963-1965); Queen's Avenue, New Westminster (1965-1973); and Carman, Chilliwack (1981-1990). He also held administrative positions for BC Conference, first as Executive Secretary (1973-1980), then as Ministry Personnel and Congregational Support officer (1990-1996).
The first branch in B.C. of the Methodist Woman's Missionary Society was organized at the old Pandora Avenue Church in Victoria in 1888. It soon became the auxiliary of Metropolitan Church, and its original purpose was to help in the setting up of a "rescue home" for Chinese women and girls who had been forced into prostitution. Other local auxiliaries soon appeared throughout the province, and in 1891 they were unified through the establishment of the B.C. Conference Branch of the W.M.S. In 1904, District branches were created for Victoria, Vancouver, Westminster and Kamloops. Besides the rescue home in Victoria, the Methodist W.M.S. in B.C. supported Residential Schools such as the Crosby Girls' Home in Port Simpson (Lax Kw'alaams), the Coqualeetza Institute in Chilliwack, the Elizabeth Long Memorial Home in Kitamaat (Haisla); the Turner Institute in Vancouver; and Methodist hospitals at Port Simpson, Bella Bella and Hazelton.
Renfrew United Church was constructed in 1926. From this period until 1929 the church depended upon supply ministers and theological students. From 1930 until 1934 Renfrew United Church was part of a two-point charge with Secord United Church. In the spring of 1933 as a result of growing attendance the Church erected a Sunday school building. In 1935 Renfrew United had its own minister however as the Second World War approached there was a shortage of clergy and Renfrew was linked primarily with Beaconsfield from 1936 until 1948. In 1949 Renfrew United Church was part of a two-point charge with Renfrew Heights which was called Renfrew-Renfrew Heights. Renfrew Heights was made a separate charge in 1952 and Renfrew United became self-supporting in 1953. The growing congregation soon outgrew the small Church and a new church was built, and was dedicated on November 14, 1957. During the years 1986 and 1987 the Renfrew Pastoral Charge included a East Vancouver Multicultural congregation.
On January 8, 1989 Renfrew United amalgamated with the Korean United Church calling themselves the Renfrew-Korean Pastoral Charge. In 1994, the amalgamation was dissolved through an act of Vancouver-Burrard Presbytery, and the the two congregations were recognized as equal partners in the single building. A joint oversight committee, consisting of three voting members from each congregation was established to make decisions on issues affecting both congregations. In 2003 the Korean United Church moved from the Renfrew church building to a church building in Burnaby, formerly used by St. Paul's United Church. Renfrew United Church was disbanded in 2006.
The Presbyterian Woman's Missionary Society, nationally organized with a few auxiliaries in B.C., was originally concerned with foreign missions. Both native Indian and Chinese work in B.C. (as they were known at the time) were included as foreign. As an outgrowth of the committee, which supported the Atlin Hospital, a new organization emerged in 1903: the Woman's Home Missionary Society. In 1914, the two societies were united nationally as the Woman's Missionary Society and a provincial synod branch was organized. In addition to its support for the Atlin Hospital and a hospital at Telegraph Creek, it took special interest in the Loggers' Mission. Support was also give to Indian Residential and Day Schools at Alberni, Ahousaht, and Ucluelet. After church union in 1925, the society was merged into the Woman's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada.
The Japanese Methodist Mission was established in Vancouver in 1896. It fell within the purview of the Home Missions Board until well after WW II, even though the congregation had become self-supporting by 1936. The congregation's first building was constructed in 1907 or 1908 at the corner of Jackson and Powell Streets. It became known as the Powell Street Church. A gymnasium and social hall were added in the 1920s, for which the congregation raised $12,000. The Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) was involved with the Japanese Mission from very early on. They taught kindergarten and home economics at the Mission, held prayer meetings, and raised funds to add to the voluntary contributions of the congregation and Home Missions. The congregation boasted an excellent Sunday school, Tuxis and Explorers groups, Mission Band, and CGIT. The Rev. Dr. Kosaburo Shimizu served the congregation from 1926 to 1942. He introduced many Christian education opportunities within the congregation, established the Young People's Union, introduced monthly English-speaking worship services, and started a relief department providing food and clothing during the Depression of the 1930s. He also helped the congregation achieve self-supporting status.
Members living in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood raised enough money, along with a Home Missions grant, to build a second Japanese Church in 1928 (by then part of The United Church of Canada).The Fairview Mission later became known as the Columbia Street Mission (from 1949 on), which was sold in 1977. From 1942 to 1949, the two buildings were used by First United Church, St. Giles, and the WMS. The Powell Street and Columbia Street buildings were held in trust by the Board of Home Missions during the war. In 1953, the Powell St. property was sold. From then on, the Japanese- and English-speaking congregations met in a number of different venues, none of which they owned, beginning with First United Church. In 1958 both Nisei and Issei (Japanese speaking) church members were worshipping in Fairview Church on Columbia. In 1962, they moved to Renfrew United Church. In 1978, the congregation purchased St. Luke’s United Church building.
At its general meeting in May 2009, BC Conference made a statement of Recognition and Apology to the Japanese United Church for the sale of the Powell Street church building 56 years earlier. In June of that year, a Service of Reconciliation took place at the Vancouver Japanese United Church. Early in 2017, the English-speaking congregation disbanded.