United Church of Canada. Mount Pearl Pastoral Charge

The first Methodist Church in Mount Pearl, known as First United Church, had its beginnings as a congregation in 1956. The congregation started out without a church building, so services of the congregation were held in a school auditorium and later a temporary building was secured which was once used by the Anglican church. Prior to that time, Glendale-Mount Pearl was a preaching place of the Topsail Pastoral Charge. Glendale and Mount Pearl were merged to become the town of Mount Pearl.

The first phase (the basement) of the present church was completed and dedicated in 1958. It was used for two years while money was being raised to finish the project. In 1959 the second phase of the building program was undertaken and completed. The new church was dedicated on October 22,1961 with Rev. Pearce J. Penney officiating. At the time of the dedication of the church, the Mount Pearl pastoral charge was administering to 135 families. Boundary changes in 1964 resulted in Topsail and Mount Pearl becoming separate charges.

By the early 1970's, Mount Pearl's population had nearly doubled and the effect of this increase in population could be seen in the First United Church services as they were now overcrowded. By 1981 the First United Church had undertook and executed a major job of renovating and extending the church in order to meet the needs of the growing membership in the church. In 1982 the total area from Kenmount Road to Brookfield Road including the Donovan's Industrial Park became the Town of Mount Pearl.

As the town continued to grow, the there was growth within the United Church as well and overcrowding became a problem A decision had to be made on whether to change boundaries and form a new congregation or form a Satellite congregation in conjunction with the First United Church. In the spring of 1988 a decision was made and a satellite congregation to First United Church was formed with a membership of 12. This congregation was named Trinity United and this congregation of people met at the Mount Pearl Junior High School for worship.

The membership has grown considerably since then but this congregation is still using the school for worship.

Custodial History: Before Mount Pearl became a pastoral charge on its own, it was part of the pastoral charge of Topsail. The vital statistics records and Boards and Service groups records are presently being maintained at the church office in Mount Pearl. Mount Pearl Pastoral Charge forwarded a small group of records to the United Church Archive. This accession included Annual Reports, Service Bulletin, Board and Committee Records, Financial Statements from Trinity United and First United Church.

Created - May 22, 2013

• Engels