Our History
This church building now used for worship was built in 1891. The property was purchased one year earlier from Peter Barr, 3/4 of an acre for the sum of $225. At that time, the Presbyterian church congregation used the building for worship. When the church was built, a communion token, a copy of the “Presbyterian Record” and a copy of the Pembroke newspaper was placed inside the corner stone.
In 1925 the union of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches took place forming the United Church of Canada. Here in Beachburg, it was the Methodist church which found itself with a dwindling population, so they decided to join with the Presbyterian congregation. This union evoked some mixed feelings among the people but eventually it all became one and St. Andrew’s United Church was formed. It is an amusing bit of history to learn that at one time the West entrance of the newly formed church was designated the Methodist side and the East entrance was the Presbyterian side! Now, of course, anyone is welcome to enter through either side!
In 1929 the original Methodist Church members sold their building, the site of which later became Weedmark’s Garage, and donated the money to build an extension. This extension is now the choir room and the back kitchen in the basement. These parts of the church have also been recently renovated. In 1991 our congregation celebrated the 100th Anniversary of this church building. Rev. Bauman was our minister at the time, Betty Fynn was the organist, and Lorna Stevenson was the chairperson of the 100th Celebration Committee. In 2016 we celebrated our 125th anniversary, with our current minister, Reverend Kevin Moratz.
Throughout the history of St. Andrew’s United Church, we have had a number of excellent reverends. Our current reverend is Kevin Moratz, fondly referred to as Rev Kev. Reverend Moratz is kind, generous, funny, hard working, and down-to-earth. He and his wife Michele show their dedication to the congregation through enthusiastic involvement in church and community events.
St. Andrew's United Church 