Please join us for the official opening of an exhibit of historical photos and artefacts relating to the history of our church and our community.
Friday, November 15th, 4 to 6 pm. Wine and cheese will be served.
At SouthWest United Church, 1445 rue Clemenceau, Verdun.
There is no charge for the exhibit, although donations are always welcome.
120 Years: LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD
SouthWest United Church is one of only two remaining United Church congregations in Verdun (the other being the Montreal Korean United Church), but it carries the legacy of several churches and congregations stretching back to 1899.
How can that be, since the United Church of Canada was only founded in 1925?
Glad you asked. One of our founding congregations, Verdun United Church, began life as Verdun Methodist, in 1899. It was one of many Methodist congregations that joined with Presbyterians and Congregationalists in 1925 to form the United Church.
Verdun had only been called Verdun for a quarter century when the first meetings about founding a Methodist church were held in the home of Mr. John Way on Church /de l’Eglise avenue. Frequent flooding had plagued the area, but with the construction of a dyke in the last years of the 19th century, much more land became suitable for settlement. By the beginning of the 20th century, Verdun was teeming with young families, and the Verdun Methodist Sunday School could barely keep up with the demand!
The original Verdun Methodist Church was built on Gordon avenue in 1902-1903. Due to a growing congregation and Sunday School, a larger building was put up on an adjoining site in 1908. Verdun Methodist and then Verdun United used both buildings until 1931, when they built a new church at 650 Woodland avenue. The Gordon avenue buildings no longer exist. The Woodland building, although sold in 2007 when Verdun amalgamated with Crawford Park, still stands and is in use by a Buddhist group and a daycare. Many Verdun United artefacts, including a triptych of stained glass windows, were preserved and incorporated into the new SouthWest United Church.
Our other founding congregation, Crawford Park United, came into being during another population boom, in the 1940s. Crawford Park was one of several Montreal neighbourhoods designated during World War II for the construction of “veteran’s cottages” - the distinctive pointed-roofed brick homes still very much in evidence in the neighbourhood. SouthWest United occupies the building the Crawford Park United congregation erected in 1947 after several years of meeting in homes and the local schoolhouse.
Both of these founding congregations came to life thanks to the can-do spirit of Verduners of the last century.
Over the years, Verdun was also home to Chalmers United, built in 1922 at 177 de l’Eglise. That congregation closed in the 1980s but the building was transferred to the Korean United Church which still holds services there today.
Verdun was even home to a French-language United Church, Église Bethanie, from 1922 to 1978. Its building, located at 3099 Wellington, was home for a time to L’Église des montrealais, and is currently used as a private residence.
Verdun United and Crawford Park United began sharing ministry in the 1970s, with the same minister performing two services every Sunday. Rev. Maurice Nerny led both congregations from 1980 to 1998. He was succeeded in 1998 by Rev. David Lefneski who oversaw amalgamation in 2007 and the opening of SouthWest Mission in 2008. He stayed on as Minister of SouthWest United until earlier this year.
SouthWest recently began a new chapter with Pastor Beryl Barraclough at the helm. There are many female worship leaders in the United Church of Canada, both ordained and lay ministers, and we have had several of them as visiting ministers at SouthWest. Perhaps that’s why we almost didn’t register the historic importance of calling Pastor Beryl. A long line of ministers stretches back over 120 years, every one of them a white man… until now.
On November 15th, and throughout the pre-Christmas season, we invite the whole community - Old Verdun and New; English and French; Christian or not – to join our little church community in looking back with pride at 120 years of achievements, and ahead with excitement to the next chapters.
Please note, except for the Nov. 15 opening, the exhibit does not have opening hours of its own, but can be enjoyed during any of the (mostly free) events and services scheduled from mid-November to the end of December. See list of upcoming events and services below
Friday, November 15: Opening of Exhibit: 120 Years in Verdun, 4pm to 6pm
Saturday November 16: Harvest Supper, 5pm. Tickets $15
Sunday November 17: Worship service 10 am
Sunday November 24: Worship service 10am
Saturday November 30: Holly Tea with Silent Auction. Lunch $5, tickets at the door
Sunday December 1: Worship service, 1st of Advent, 10am
Sunday December 8: Worship service, 2nd of Advent
Sunday December 15: Worship service, 3rd of Advent
Sunday December 15: Chantons Noel Candlelight Carol service, 4pm
Sunday December 22: Worship service, 4th of Advent, 10am
Tuesday, December 24: Worship service, Christmas Eve, 7:30pm