The Closing of a Presbyterian Pulpit

Fellowship Canadian Reformed Church is in the community of Aldershot, in Burlington. It was 50 years ago that Aldershot village joined Burlington City. And as near as I can tell the Aldershot Presbyterian Church was built in 1957, the year before. The congregation had been formed a few years earlier: likely in 1954. The Canadian Reformed Church of Burlington South, now known as Fellowship Canadian Reformed Church rented the facilities for 17 years: fully 1/3 of the time since the inaugural service in January 1957. In January 2008, 51 years after the dedication of the building, the pulpit was closed, and the Presbyterian congregation merged with Knox Presbyterian in Waterdown.

The last times Fellowship congregation used this building was in April and June 2006. Rev. J.L. van Popta held his inaugural sermon there on the Sunday he was installed as the pastor of Fellowship church, and then in June, Rev. Chris Bosch led a Public Profession of Faith service there.

At the time we did not know that those two services would mark the passing of an era for Fellowship Church. The new pastor and the emeritus pastor both preaching there about six weeks apart.

In 2007 Fellowship congregation put an offer to purchase the building, but a developer was able to offer more.

Today the building is under the wrecking ball. One of our members who lives nearby told me that he could hear the excavator taking down the building, so I dashed over with my camera, to capture the closing of a chapter of Fellowship Canadian Reformed Church life.

It is a sad thing when Reformed and Protestant pulpits close. Fellowship Church hopes and prays that it can serve as that confessionally sound Reformed witness in Aldershot for many, many years.