The Stewart Memorial Church is

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

’s oldest Black congregation. It was established in the 1830s as St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopalian Church, and moved to its current site on John Street in 1879 after its original location on Rebecca Street was destroyed by a fire.

History

Abolitionist

Josiah Henson Josiah Henson (June 15, 1789 – May 5, 1883) was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's scho ...

, who inspired

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's novel

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

, was the church's first pastor. One of the most prominent figures in the history of Stewart Memorial Church was the Reverend

John Christie Holland John Christie Holland (25 December 1882 - 22 June 1954) was a Canadian pastor. He was the first Canadian of African heritage to be named a "Citizen of the Year". Holland was the pastor of Stewart Memorial Church in Hamilton, Ontario. Due to his t ...

. Holland played a major role in keeping the church open when the congregation was faced with financial difficulties during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1937 the church decided to sever ties with the African Methodist Episcopal body. This resulted in the formation of a non-denominational church, renamed in commemoration of the previous reverend, Claude A. Stewart. Since its establishment, the church has served a central role in Hamilton's Black community, providing various social, cultural and religious programming. Prominent members of the church have included

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who played as a Linebacker#Middle linebacker, middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in th ...

, the first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist, and

Lincoln Alexander Lincoln MacCauley Alexander (January 21, 1922 – October 19, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer who became the first Black Canadian member of Parliament in the House of Commons, the first Black federal Cabinet Minister (as federal Minister of Labou ...

, former

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

and Canada's first non-white

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. In 1994, the property was designated an Ontario Heritage Site. Around this time, the congregation was observed as entirely elderly as few young native-born Black Hamiltonians chose to remain in the city - citing racism and a lack of opportunities.

References

{{Reflist History of Black people in Canada Designated heritage properties in Ontario Religious buildings and structures completed in 1879 History of Hamilton, Ontario Churches in Hamilton, Ontario Black Canadian organizations 19th-century churches in Canada