St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Nanaimo, BC


History

ChurchOur congregation roots date back to 1865 when Rev. Jamieson was the pastor and services were held in the city Court House. Our first edifice was erected on Fitzwilliam Street and served their needs for 22 years. The original congregation was made up of 19 members our of a population of 600. According to the latest statistics, Nanaimo's population is approximately 83,750 and our membership stands at 203 with an additional 165 adherents. In 1923 the Kirk Session consisted of 12 men, today it is made up of 20 men and women.

In 1973 the congregation approved construction of the first structure, a multi-purpose building, which served their needs the next fourteen years. In 1987 a new sanctuary was erected, which is our present place of worship. The first structure now serves as our church hall. By 1997 we celebrated the burning of the mortgage on the sanctuary. In 1999, the parking lot was expanded and paved. In 2006, a new mortgage was taken in order to renovate and expand our hall. Our expanded office areas include space used for administrating the Young Life program. We are presently rebuilding our memorial garden that was damaged during the renovations.

In 2003, the session disbanded the Board of Managers with the responsibilities passed on to committees. This was a year of change as we also engaged a Youth Minister. Under his direction we had a slight increase in the number of older teens and young adults until he left to return to pursue his studies.

This congregation holds a strong conviction that mission projects, both local and abroad are a vital part of our worship and outreach ministry. We share our resources locally and within the Presbyterian Church in Canada. We support teachers in a nursery school in Guatemala, children served by World Vision, the Leprosy Mission of Canada, as well as supporting various requests from P.W.S. and D. when disaster strikes.

For a number of years, the congregation was able to attend their choice of morning worship services; a 9:15 (now updated to 9:00 am) contemporary service or an 11 a.m. traditional service. During the summer months, we offered a single service at 10 a.m. that was a blend of the two different styles. In September 2006, a decision was made to retain the blended service held each Sunday at 10 a.m. Summer services are now held at 10 a.m., while the rest of the year, a Contemporary Family Service is held at 9:00 a.m. and a Traditional Service is held at 11:00 a.m.

A Korean Presbyterian congregation shares our facility and holds worship services each Sunday afternoon.

The desire of Saint Andrew's congregation is to seek God's plan for the next stage of our development. Currently we are a congregation that is more senior than it should be if we wish to expand. Pastor Ron Fischer joined us in 2008 and is working towards maintaining a long established tradition of meaningful Christian ministry in the City of Nanaimo.

 

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