The Churches Of Grey Presbytery Of The United Church Of Canada

Written in celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the United Church of Canada and prepared by the Archives Committee of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, this collection of articles explores, in fifteen articles, the issues and concerns of the prairie congregations of the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational Churches that combined in 1925 to for the United Church of Canada. The volume also includes six short essays about unique congregations, two bibliographic guides on archive holdings, and a charming photo essay on historic churches in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

While individuals within the Methodist and Congregational Churcheshad doubts about Church Union, only among the Presbyterians didorganized collective action against the union and the legislation thatcreated the United Church of Canada develop. N. Keith Clifforddocuments the origins, growth and significance of the resistance whichsaw 150,000 Presbyterians refuse to join the new church. Past studies of the union concluded with its consummation in 1925.Viewing the controversy from the perspective of the 1939 amendment tothe United Church of Canada Act, which finally accepted thePresbyterian claims on the identity and continuity of their church,alters the standard images of the parties in the conflict anddemonstrates that there are two quite distinct ways of understandingthe events and the actions based on them.