South Burnaby United Church History 1908 - 2010
We celebrated our 100th Anniversary April 23-25, 2010.
For photos from our Anniversary events, click
here.
The
church
began
as
a
Sunday
School
in 1908, at Dundonald School (later Riverway East
School and currently
Glenwood
School)
at what is now Gilley Ave and Marine Dr. in South
Burnaby. Miss Helena Crake offered a Sunday
School class in the school for 19 pupils.
By 1909/10, a church
congregation was formed, as Dundonald
Methodist
Church, with a student
minister, Mr. G.B. Ridland, responsible for services.
Photo credit: Dundonald Church and Riverway East School ,
between 1911 – 1919. City of Burnaby Archives, Photo ID
325-024.
In
1912,
the
small
congregation
had
raised
money and, with volunteer labour,
had
built a church building on Gilley Ave,
opposite the school.
The new church was named Dundonald after a Mr Dundonald who was one of
the trustees of the school.The Dundonald congregation continued to
worship in the little church,
with student ministers and lay preachers, through into the 1920’s. Most
services were a combined Sunday School and worship service. Photo
credit: Dundonald Church. City of Burnaby Archives, Photo ID
325-022In 1925, when the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist
churches in Canada joined to form a new denomination - the United
Church of Canada, the
name of the congregation was changed to Dundonald United. In
1926, Rev. John Wright began his ministry and attracted the
interest of residents living further away from the Gilley
location. It became
evident that the little church congregation needed to move uphill and
west to be closer to the growing population along the Interurban tram
line.
The
little
building
at
the
foot
of
Gilley
was
sold
in 1927 and
the site for a new church was obtained at Clinton St. and Curragh Ave.,
with land donated by two families. The congregation met in rented
premises above stores at Portland St. and Buller Ave. for a year,
during which time the new building was completed. The new church opened
in October 1928.
Dundonald United Church flourished and grew throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s. There was a choir, Womens Auxiliary units, CGIT, Trailrangers, Tuxis, Mission Band, Young Peoples Society and more. The Sunday School grew from 181 in 1928 to 400 in 1953.
In
1950,
Dundonald
United
became
a
separate
pastoral charge and changed
its name to
South Burnaby United. In the early 1950’s, Burnaby
saw a huge influx of new families as large numbers of houses were being
built on the South Slope. A second Sunday School was opened in the
school building at Joffre and Rumble. A deposit was made on two lots on
Nelson Ave. at Sidley. The area the church was to serve was
bounded by 2 blocks east of Gilley to Boundary Road and from Imperial
to Marine Drive. The Nelson site was later abandoned because the street
was not on a bus route. The present site at Gray and Rumble was served
by a bus so the building location was changed. After the decision was
made the routes were changed and we were without local bus service
until 2005! The property was obtained at the
corner of Rumble St. and Gray Ave. and a new church was built there,
opening its doors in October 1953.
Families continued to come to the South Burnaby area. In 1958, the
Sunday
School
enrolled
1000
pupils.
More
space
was
needed.
The 1953
building was uprooted from its position and moved uphill to a lot on
Gray Ave. (it is still there and serves as the current church hall.) A
new and larger church building was erected on Gray Ave. at Rumble, and
was dedicated on Thanksgiving Sunday, 1959.
South Burnaby United Church purchased a Craftsman style house at
2111 Jubilee (renumbered to 7092 Jubilee in 1960/61). It served as the
manse until Rev. Russell Beairsto arrived and purchased his own home.
The house was rented out from 1984 – 1989 and was sold May 1989. The
building is still there.
For the past 50 years, South Burnaby United Church has continued to grow and share.
The AOTS Mens Club was formed in 1954 and continues today with its pancake breakfasts and garage sales.
The women are part of the United Church Women and have run a Thrift Shop in the basement of the church for over 25 successful years.
Youth groups have continued – Explorers, CGIT, Scouts, Cubs, Guides, Brownies, and more.
Music has been a special joy and the choir has had an active
history. During the 1970’s a young people’s choir, the Coffee Club
Singers, presented several rock musicals to rave reviews.
| 1984 |
2009 |
South Burnaby has been an essential sponsor of the Fair Haven United
Church Home, St. Michael’s Centre and L’Arche Community, all located in
the South Burnaby neighbourhood.
The congregation has sponsored several refugee families, beginning in 1980 with Vietnamese Boat People and continuing to the present time with a family from Iraq.
The church has provided ESL classes to new Canadians and has entertained homebound seniors at monthly teas.
For the past 20 years, SBUC has hosted a series of soup and sandwich lunches weekly during Lent, with guest speakers from neighbouring churches of various denominations.
Throughout all our own local activities, the members of South Burnaby have actively supported community and global outreach programs.
The Sunday School, the original foundation of Dundonald Church, continues as an active and vital part of South Burnaby United Church, welcoming children of all ages each week.
As we celebrate 100 years of fellowship, we thank God for the opportunity we have been given here in South Burnaby. We remember the pioneers who had the vision to start a Sunday School and a congregation, those who worked so hard to provide us with places to worship, and those who continue to serve in so many ways ……
