The Historical Statement delivered Sunday by Dr. R. G. Lea clerk of Session of the Kirk of St. James, Charlottetown, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary observance of the Congregation follows: "The Kirk of St. James has been a part of the life and structure of Charlottetown for 150 years. We, who constitute the present congregation have the great responsibility of preserving the great heritage. that is the Kirk that we have inherited from those who have gone before us. In order that we may properly understand the nature of our responsibility, and of our privilege, we must look back to our origins and consider the forces and influences that led to the establishment of the Kirk and in particular, we must try to discern the development of the spirit and the character that has given us the Kirk as we know it.
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| Original wooden Kirk of St. James - Charlottetown, PEI |
"Although an act of the Legislature in 1790 had granted authority to the Presbyterians and Quakers of Charlottetown to establish churches, it was not until 1825 that action was taken that led to the creation of the Kirk. "During this period there was only one church building in Charlottetown. This was built with money provided by the Colonial office and was shared by the Anglicans and Presbyterians.
Although Presbyterians in the capital were handicapped by the lack of a church of their own and by the absence of an organized leadership there were several well established rural congregations in various. parts of the province. "This was considered a part of the Pictou's Presbytery until 1821 when P.E.I. was established as a separate Presbytery. Ministers from Pictou made many visits to the island and provided spiritual leadership to Presbyterian settlers in various localities. Notably amongst these was the Rev. Mr. MacGregor, who provided very strong leadership and helped, with others, keep strong the spirit of Presbyterianism in settlers of Scottish - Presbyterian background. Without these recurring, visits and the spiritual uplift that resulted — the history of the Presbyterian Church in P. E.I. would have been very different. "It's apparent that it was this stimulus — combined with the efforts of Presbyterian Clergymen from other Island parishes, that resulted in a group of Charlottetown citizens deciding to found a Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown and the start of the Kirk may be said to date from a notice that appeared in Hazards Record on the 17th of June 1825, calling a public meeting for the purpose of establishing a congregation of the established Church of Scotland. "At that meeting resolutions were adopted — approving the project, appointing a committee to act on the matter, and setting up a subscription list that eventually raised the total of 431 Pounds.
Though plans were made to start construction in the spring of 1821 on land donated by The Bernie Family and by Mr. Johnston, it was not until 1831 that the building was eventually completed, and the first service was held on August 9th. The morning service was held in Gaelic and the afternoon service in English. The Kirk therefore was built upon a firm foundation long established by the Pictou and P. E.I. Scottish settlers "The character of the congregation of the Kirk was firmly established in this period of Gestation, and in the deliberations of the committee who became the first Kirk Session, we repeatedly read of their concern for the spiritual welfare of their people, of their reverence for the church of their forebears, of their joy and pleasure in the purity and simplicity of their service and of their sincere trust in God. Thus was the Kirk of St. James launched in it course and its character established. "The record of 150 years cannot be compressed into a few words. The statistics are here for those who would study them — the biographies of the many ministers — the story of building and of maintenance — of disasters and of fires — of great disruption of 1843 and of the events of 1925, and how this all affected the Kirk.
The record also tells of many great, and many humble people who worshipped here. All this is but the outward manifestation of the real heart of the Kirk story. "What cannot be measured or recorded is too nebulous to define precisely, but it has to do with the place the Kirk plays in the lives of those who worship here, and while conditions have changed drastically since the days of the committee of 1825 the basic nature of the church and of its, people remains unchanged. "The evidence as we look backwards, would indicate that the hopes and aspirations of the founding committee have been realized. But — as we close this one section of history we enter another, with this difference, that unlike our forebears — we have a great heritage to protect and to perpetuate. We are the custodians of the future of the Kirk as well as the curators of the past and it is our responsibility to carry on the task commenced in 1825. "In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, we are all part of the same woven strip. It must be our endeavour to ensure that those who follow us will be justified in thinking as kindly of us as we do of our founders and of those who have nourished and sustained the Kirk through its 150 years history."
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| Second building the stone Kirk of St. James - Charlottetown, PEI |
Original published in 1975 – transcribed using OCR and
editing by Ian Scott 2025
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