Union between the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist congregations in Canada was a subject that sold newspapers in 1924. The Stratford Beacon Herald ran daily reports about the opinions on both sides. In Stratford, the major dissenters seemed to be in the Presbyterian churches, since the newspaper articles were mostly about opinions expressed by people attending Knox and St. Andrew’s. Tempers flared and that helped newspapers sell.
On December 5 1924, Mrs Agnes Johnston, a 90 yr old Presbyterian was interviewed. “The problem,” she said, “is a very weighty one, almost too large to be attempted successfully. In the heat of the subject both sides are making assertions that are not becoming to Christians,” in her opinion. The basis of the move is good… and if properly carried out, the idea is right.
In January 1924 a huge number of the congregations of Knox and St. Andrews left the Presbyterian church. Their ministers resigned and went with them, calling themselves “Unionists”. It is impossible to relate the history of Parkview without discussing this group since they are tied together in many ways. These “Unionists” immediately formed a new congregation complete with boards to govern, and worshiped at the city hall. Soon, ads appeared to advertise the services, calling the new church “First United”, stating they had two ministers. One of these was Rev. Finlay Matheson who had been working for the past year on the committee that organized the East End Sunday School.
It is important to stress that First United and Parkview United were two completely separate congregations. First United was a fully functional congregation before Union. They were accepted into the United Church of Canada at the end of June 1925. By the fall of 1925 they amalgamated with Trinity (Methodist) United, and this new union built a brand new building on the site of the old Trinity Methodist. This new congregation was named St. John’s United.
By March 1925, with an official union of the Methodist, Presbyterians and Congregationalists looking like a sure thing, the adults of the East End Sunday School were hoping for worship in conjunction with the Christian education being provided. Attendance by now was averaging 240 people of all ages. Since the superintendent represented the Methodist faith, a request was made to the former Presbyterian ministers to provide worship. Rev Finlay Matheson agreed to attend and the first formal worship with the attendees of the Sunday School was held on the evening of March 15 1925 with 40 people. Soon Rev Matheson began conducting worship on Sunday mornings, with the Sunday School continuing to meet in the afternoons.
When union became official on June 10, 1925, First United called a new minister, Rev Stanley Owens. Rev Matheson was now able to commit full-time to the East End worshippers. But the people meeting in the Juliet School were not an official congregation yet. They were neither “fish nor fowl”. Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalists congregations that voted in favour of union were automatically now United Church of Canada. But the East End Sunday School was an interdenominational mission project, supported by all the churches in Stratford. If they wanted to be part of this exciting new church they needed to do something official.
On July 7 1925, a commission of Presbytery met with the people of the East End congregation. Rev H.G. Crozier of Tavistock, Rev J.J. Brown of St. Marys, Rev N.M. Leckie of Motherwell, and elder George McKay of Tavistock represented the presbytery of Stratford. Rev Finlay Matheson handed these men a roll of 74 names, the first official members of the new congregation. What is interesting in reading these names is that Rev Matheson signed the roll. Was this common in the Presbyterian Church? In the United Church a minister is not a member of the congregation but of Presbytery. Another explanation could be that maybe Mr. Matheson was not a member anywhere since he was not a minister in any recognized congregation. Maybe this is how he got on the roll of ministers in the United Church. We will probably never know the answer. After a prayer of dedication, the name of the church was unanimously declared to be “The Parkview United Church.” The first governing board was then elected and Parkview became a “real” church.