The Disciples of Christ have been a Christian witness in St. Thomas, Ontario for 158 years. For our 150th anniversary in 2014, the St. Thomas Times-Journal published an article about our church’s deep roots in the community and all the ways that we have grown and changed over the years . . .

The original church that began in 1864, three years before Canada's Confederation, was located just west of Centennial Ave. in a rural area of the former Yarmouth Township.

The founding Pastor was Edmund Sheppard who was also the pastor at the South Dorchester Church, now known as the Mapleton Church of Christ (Disciples).

Pastor Sheppard became instrumental in planting Disciple churches all along the Talbot Road from Aylmer to Windsor.

In 1879, just 15 years after the little country church began, a decision was made to move the church into the rapidly growing and over crowded railway town of St. Thomas.

Despite worries that the young people in the congregation might be influenced by the ruffians and rowdy characters employed by the railway companies, the church congregation remained strong.

And perhaps it was because it was situated on the west side of Railway St., now known as Princess Ave. Who knows?

The congregation was numbered about 70 when the move into the town occurred in 1879, and to celebrate the opening of the new church, three weeks of evangelical meetings were held in the church.

The first pastor to be ordained in the church was a local man by the name of Thomas L. Fowler.

He became the pastor at the Railway Street Church and served the Disciples in many ways throughout his numerous years of service, including being named as the first president of Sinclair College.

In 1895 a need for a religious based teaching college was recognized by the Disciples denomination and Sinclair College was built at the corner of Hiawatha and Omemee streets here in the city.

It was the first small teaching college formed in Canada at the time.

In 1905 a mission Sunday school began in the area of Yarmouth Heights, now the Park Ave. and Steele St. area of the city.

This mission outreach would lay groundwork for the formation of the second Disciples church in St. Thomas in the 1940s.

By the mid 1890's the congregation numbers had surpassed 400 members.

As the numbers swelled so did the need for a bigger and better church. In 1906-1907 the congregation undertook to construct a new larger edifice in which to worship.

As a result, renowned local architect Mr. Neil Darrach was employed to design the new church building.

On April 28, 1907 the new brick church was opened and dedicated. Before the congregation was dismissed that Sunday, the pastor kept the members until over $11,000 was pledged against the building costs of $15,000.

It was estimated that in 1957, the cost to build that same building would have exceeded $150,000. This former church building is now the home to the Elgin Theatre Guild, and is listed among the designated heritage buildings in St. Thomas.

The congregations count among their past members, a mayor of this city Mr. Robert Price, a city treasurer, aldermen and many business men and women.

Many members of the congregations have contributed greatly to the continued outreach and mission of the Disciples Church in St. Thomas, in the Province of Ontario, as well as across Canada and North America and around the world.

In 1956, a brand new church building was opened at Park Ave. and Forest Ave. The Park Avenue Christian Church was the second congregation in St. Thomas, making this the only city in Ontario to have two Disciples congregations. That honour now sits with the city of Guelph.

The two churches continued to work in the community until the 1980's when economic and cultural changes began having an effect on the numbers of people attending both churches. It was at that time the congregations voted to amalgamate and form a brand new church.

Both churches were placed for sale and a search began for a site to build what would become the present day St. Thomas Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) located at 451 Wellington Street.

On May 31, 1987 the official church opening and dedication of the church cornerstone took place.

Like the neighbourhood around us, our church has changed since 1864.

Today, our congregation is made up of members of Princess Avenue Christian Church and Park Avenue Christian Church; long-standing Disciples; people from other Christian denominations; and new people looking for communion and community.

. . . So, our story continues!

Be a part of this next chapter in the life of our church by connecting with us via email and worshipping with us on Sundays at 11 AM at the church or via Facebook.