St. James-Bond United Church, at 1066

Avenue Road Avenue Road is a major north–south street in Toronto, Ontario. The road is a continuation of University Avenue, linked to it via Queen's Park and Queen's Park Crescent East and West to form a single through route.''Toronto Pocket Street Atla ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, was a

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

congregation from 1928 to 2005, when it merged with ''Fairlawn Heights United Church'' (now ''Fairlawn Avenue United Church'') in the

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

and Lawrence Avenue area. The "St. James-Bond" name derived from the merger of ''St. James Square Presbyterian Church'' with ''Bond Street Congregational Church'' in 1928. Prior to the merger, they were separate congregations downtown, of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

traditions respectively. The church building at 1066 Avenue Road was vacated on February 28, 2006. The building was torn down in the summer of 2006, and the site is now the Living Life on the Avenue Seniors Retirement Residence. The building had been used by

Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...

for a polling place. In 2008, some voters were mistakenly told to vote at the demolished church, instead of at the new polling place at

Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School (Marshall McLuhan, MMCSS, Marshall McLuhan CSS, or McLuhan) is a coeducational, non-semestered, Catholic high school in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada managed by the Toronto Catholic District School B ...

Bond Street Congregational Church

Originally located east of

Dundas Street Dundas Street is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long sectio ...

, the congregation moved uptown in 1927, to a growing suburban development north of

Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the western limits of Mississauga, as a ...

. The Bond Street building was acquired by a

pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

church, ''Evangel Temple''. The building was destroyed by fire after Evangel Temple moved to the

Hoggs Hollow Hoggs Hollow is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Don River Valley and centred on the intersection of Yonge Street, York Mills Road, and Wilson Avenue. Hoggs Hollow is named after the Hogg family. James ...

area, near Yonge and

York Mills York Mills is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred around Yonge Street and York Mills Road located in the district of North York. In 2010, it encompassed the fourth and seventh most affluent postal codes in Canada. It is re ...

, on September 19, 1981.

St. James Square Presbyterian Church

Located on Gerrard Street, just east of Yonge, on the present site of

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

's St. James Square Campus, this was the third building of the ''Second United Presbyterian Church of Toronto''. It was built in 1879, replacing a much smaller building at southeast corner of Gould and Victoria Streets (now Ryerson Community Park) that had been built by architect William Hay in 1855-1856. The United Presbyterian Church's Canadian

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

approved the division of their Toronto, Canada West ''Bay Street United Presbyterian Church'' congregation in 1853 to assist in the move of their ''Divinity Hall'' from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to Toronto. In 1861, the merger of the UPC with the

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...

saw the Divinity School merge with Knox College, and ''Gould Street Church'' grew under the leadership of: * Professor John Taylor (1853–1861), who returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

; his son, Sir

Thomas Wardlaw Taylor Sir Thomas Wardlaw Taylor (March 25, 1833 – March 2, 1917) was a Canadian lawyer and judge. Born in Auchtermuchty, Scotland, he studied at Edinburgh University, and was admitted to the Upper Canadian bar in 1858. From 1872 to 1883 he was M ...

remained in Canada, and was later Chief Justice of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. * Rev. Robert Burns (1861–1863), a Knox College professor, formerly of Knox Free Church, * John Mark King (1863–1883), later the Principal of

Manitoba College Manitoba College was a college that existed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from 1871 to 1967, when it became one of the University of Winnipeg's founding colleges. It was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the city of Winnipeg and t ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, * S. H. Kellogg (1885–1892), a former

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

), who returned there, *

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

(1894–1900), * Alfred Gandier (1901–1908), later Principal of both Knox (1909–1925) and Emmanuel College (1925–1932). *

Andrew Robertson Andrew Henry Robertson (born 11 March 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Liverpool and captains the Scotland national team. Robertson began his senior career with Queen's Park in 2012 before joini ...

(1910–1916), * D. N. Morden (1917–1926).

St. James-Bond United Church

Both congregations joined the

in 1925. Each had declined as Toronto grew and parishioners joined congregations closer to their homes, some started by the respective congregations. St. James Square was the "parent" of College Street United Church and St. John's Presbyterian Church, Toronto. Bond Street was the parent of Birchcliff Church in Scarborough Township (now Birchcliff Bluffs United Church). Bond Street was the first of the two congregations to move into a new area, joined by their former downtown neighbour a year later.

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

apparently stayed with a friend on Avenue Road across from the church, and he later went on to write books about a character named

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

References

External links

Fairlawn Avenue United Church website
– including

* ttp://wholemap.com/map/area.php?area=NorthToronto&pin=WIKIPED-8 Location of the final church at 1066 Avenue Road– with photos and links to websites related to the area {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James-Bond Church, Toronto United Church of Canada churches in Toronto Christian organizations established in 1928 Religious organizations disestablished in 2005 Christian organizations disestablished in the 2000s Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto 20th-century Presbyterian churches Buildings and structures demolished in 2006

Bond Street Congregational Church

St. James Square Presbyterian Church

St. James-Bond United Church

See also

References

External links