Sydenham Street United Church, formerly Sydenham Street Methodist Church, is a church in
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, Ontario, Canada that dates to 1852. It was originally a Methodist church, but since 1925 has belonged to the United Church of Canada.
Origins
The church has its origins in the New Methodist Chapel, a small frame building built in 1811 in the village of Kingston at the corner of Wellington and Johnson streets. Another small frame chapel was built in 1816–17 by British Wesleyans on the southeast corner of Bay and Bagot streets, and was enlarged in 1835. The two congregations combined when the various branches of Methodism were unified.
The Rev.
Egerton Ryerson
Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (24 March 1803 – 19 February 1882) was a Canadian educator, author, editor, and Methodist minister who was a prominent contributor to the design of the Canadian public school system.
A renowned advocate against Christ ...
(1803–1882) was their resident minister at the time of
Lord Sydenham
Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham, (13 September 1799 – 19 September 1841) was a British businessman, politician, diplomat and the first Governor General of the united Province of Canada.
’s death.
Construction
John Counter
John Counter (April 18, 1799 – October 29, 1862) was a Canadian businessman and political figure. He served as Mayor of the City of Kingston, Ontario, for the terms 1841-43; 1846; 1850; 1852–53 and 1855.
Personal life
John Counter was born on ...
(1799–1862), a prominent Kingston businessman and first mayor of the city of Kingston, was a strong supporter of the Wesleyan Methodists.
He donated the property for the Sydenham Street Church.
The land had formerly been used as the circus grounds.
The building was designed by the architect
William Coverdale
William Coverdale (8 July 1862 – 23 September 1934) was an English first-class cricketer, who played two matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in June 1888.
James Caughey
James Caughey (9 April 1810 – 30 January 1891) was a Methodist minister and evangelist who was active in the United States, England and Canada. An imposing and effective preacher, he conducted highly emotional revival meetings at which many of h ...
spent four months in Kingston. Hundreds of people came to hear him speak at the Sydenham Street Methodist Church, and it is said that he was directly responsible for almost four hundred conversions or experiences of sanctification.
He preached his last sermon at the church on 13 March 1853.
In 1860 the Methodists held their conference in Kingston at the church.
The doctor, educator, and civil servant Michael Lavell (1825–1901) was a member of the congregation.
Samuel Dwight Chown
Samuel Dwight Chown (11 April 1853 – 30 January 1933) was a Methodist minister who led the Methodist Church of Canada into the United Church of Canada in 1925.
Early years
Samuel Dwight Chown was born on 11 April 1853 in Kingston, then in Canad ...
(1853–1933), later head of the Methodist Church when the United Church was formed, was converted at the Sydenham Street Church in 1868 soon after his father had died.
Chown was converted at revival services held in the church, a normal feature of Methodism at the time.
The Methodists held their General Conference of 1882 at the church.
In 1889 the evangelists Hugh Crossley and John Hunter launched their campaign from the church, the first of a series of meetings where they asked their audience to repent of their sins, convert, and live a life pleasing to God, avoiding secular entertainments such as the theater. The Kingston ''Daily British Whig'' reported the "quite a number found their way to the altar" at this first meeting.
Crossley and Hunter were celebrities, and consciously exploited this to raise excitement in the hope of making conversions.
A report of their final service at the ''Sydenham Street Methodist Church'' in 1889 said the galleries were filled by women five minutes after the doors were opened. "Then the dear ladies banked themselves against the door, waiting so patiently for the time when they could crowd on the main floor. It was the final night! Theatre goers know what that means."
The resident minister at this time was Carson, who was given a salary of CAN$2,000 per year, and a house provided by the church.
On 25 September 1892 Garrett's ''Harvest Cantata'' (1889) was performed for the first time in Canada at the church.
In 1897 the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, with his musical assistant J.H. Burke, came to Kingston and held two days of meetings at the ''Sydenham Street Methodist Church'' and Kingston Penitentiary. His evangelism was received enthusiastically by Kingston workers, 1,000 of whom were unable to gain access.
During the Second Boer War (1899–1902) Canada sent troops to support the British in South Africa.
In January 1900 a special service was held in the Sydenham Street Methodist Church with C Battery of the second contingent in attendance.
'' The Christian Guardian'' reported the service and commented,
United Church
The Reverend R.H. Bell was pastor in 1925, when he accepted an invitation to the pastorate of Young Methodist Church, Winnipeg, in June.
That year the Methodists joined the Congregationalists and most of the Presbyterians to form the United Church of Canada.
The church took its present name of Sydenham Street United Church.
When Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada in 1959 she attended a service at the church on 28 June 1959.
By the 1960s 400–600 people attended two services each week. In 1996, there were about 200 attendees at one service on Sunday mornings.
In the late 1990s the congregation decided to become an "affirming congregation", one in which people of all sexual orientations and gender identities were welcome.
The church building, now known as The Spire, is used for a wide variety of community functions. It has been the home of the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston for twenty years.
It is also used by the Kingston Choral Society, and houses the offices of Autism Ontario, Our Livable Solutions, Kuluta Buddhist Centre, and Moira's Piano Studio. Approximately 1,000 people use the building each week .
The church has been used for concerts by many artists, including Henry Rollins,
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
The Good Lovelies
The Good Lovelies are a Canadian folk/country harmony trio, consisting of Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore. At their core they can be described as a country/folk trio, with tinges of pop, roots, jazz and sometimes hip-hop mixed in.
His ...
, and Fred Penner.
As well as the main hall, which has a stage on which performances may be given, there is a lecture hall, a board room and other rooms that can be used for meetings or conferences by groups.