United Church of Canada. Grand Falls Memorial Pastoral Charge

The Grand Falls and Millertown Mission was formed in the Twillingate District of the Newfoundland Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada in 1908. The boundaries of the mission extended from Millertown to Glenwood and included all places on the railway line, including logging camps in the vicinity.

The first Methodist service was held in a school in Grand Falls in 1906. Records indicate that there were 13 church members, and the congregation was ministered from Glenwood and Norris Arm. Probationary ministers were stationed at Glenwood and visited Grand Falls, Scissors Cove, Little Burnt Bay, and Norris Arm. By 1915, Bishop Falls, Glenwood, and Norris Arm were part of the Bishop Falls Mission.

In 1910, a new parsonage was constructed on Carmelite Road in Grand Falls, and Rev. William Muir became the first resident minister. A church was completed in 1911 on High Street and had a capacity of 300.

In 1914, the Grand Falls Circuit had missions in Grand Falls, Bishop Falls, and Millertown. In 1919, Grand Falls became an independent circuit and has remained so ever since.

The population of the town was steadily increasing; by 1922, the local congregation had outgrown the capacity of the old church so a new church was started. The church basement was finished in 1924 and was opened as the Bennett Hall. The church was finished in 1928 and dedicated as the Memorial United Church on 11 November. Rev B. Bugden was its first pastor. In 1923, a new manse was purchased. A third manse on Hill Road was purchased in 1963. The first Methodist cemetery in Grand Falls was opened on Valley Road. In the late 1920s, a new cemetery was opened on Lincoln Road.

The church in Grand Falls was organized from the beginning under the Session/Official Board structure. A Quarterly Official Board, Trustee Board, and a building committee were organized. Other committees dealing with Sunday school and temperance and moral reform soon followed. The Ladies' Aid Society was formed in 1910 and later became the Women's Association. Other women's groups followed, including the Women's Patriotic Association, the Currie Mission Circle in 1920, and the Young Women's Friendship Circle in 1950. The Explorer Group was organized in 1950, and by 1975 there were three groups of Canadian Girls in Training, one senior and two intermediate.

In 1922, a resolution was passed at the Quarterly Official Board meeting to ask the Presbyterian congregation of the town to amalgamate with the Methodist Church. However, the Presbyterians at St. Matthew's resisted the offer and remained opposed to Church Union.

In 1988, a new church building committee was appointed by the Official Board, and on 11 November 1990, the New Memorial United Church and Christian Education Centre was dedicated.

Created - May 8, 2013

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