St. Andrew's United Church (Nanaimo, B.C.)

The first Methodist services in Nanaimo were conducted in 1857. The original Nanaimo Circuit covered an area from Comox to Saltspring Island. Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist Church was built in 1860. It was later known as Nanaimo Methodist Church and, after the Haliburton Street congregation became a separate circuit in 1892, as Wallace Street Methodist Church. Presbyterian services were first held in the Court House in 1865. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was opened in 1866. In 1925, the congregation of Wallace Street Methodist Church and the members of St. Andrew's Presbyterian who were in favour of union joined to form First United Church (Nanaimo, B.C.). A large proportion of the Presbyterians voted against union, and court action ensued regarding the legality of the vote and the disposal of property. Legal counsel advised using the name of St. Andrew's, and for a short period, both names appear in the records. The final decision regarding the property was that St. Andrew's United Church would have the Presbyterian church and manse and that the continuing Presbyterians would have the Wallace Street property. This situation was the only case of union litigation in British Columbia. From 1966 to 1977, St. Andrew's was part of an area ministry known as Nanaimo Larger Parish or Nanaimo Combined Congregation, which also included Haliburton Street, Cedar, and the Chinese and Indian Missions. After Cedar United Church became part of the Nanaimo River Pastoral Charge in 1977 and the Haliburton Street property was sold in 1978, St. Andrew's continued in association with the Indian and Chinese congregations.