The Grace United Church
6215 104th Avenue
Architects: McKernan & Bouey
Constructed: 1959-60
Grace United Church held its inaugural service on July 14th, 1957. The small parish, formed by a dozen citizens, sought to serve the spiritual needs of Fulton Place, Capilano, Hardisty, and Gold Bar in Edmonton’s Eastend. One parishioner, Mr. Hart of 5307 104th Avenue, hosted the fledgling congregation each Sunday. Student-pastor Jim Elliot led service.
The worshipers’ numbers slowly grew, and in January 1958 they secured a temporary building from the local presbytery. A complete Sunday school program, Women’s Federation, and slate of mid-week youth activities quickly followed. That April, the United Church of Canada recognized the parish as a formal congregation, and Reverend G.B. Johnston, formerly of Grande Prairie, took over ministerial duties.
By January 1959, Grace United counted 300 parishioners and 500 Sunday School students among its ranks. Indeed, their Sunday observances had become so large that the church needed to organize overflow services at the Capilano School auditorium, nearby. The necessisty for a proper building was apparent, so a construction committee developed, funds raised, and a design commissioned. Thomas Robinson, Chairman of the Building Committee, turned the new church’s sod at 11:45 A.M., Sunday, May 17th, 1959.
Grace United’s cornerstone laying ceremony followed on Sunday, April 24th, 1960. 300 were in attendance as the Reverend Doctor D.J.C. Elson, president of the Alberta Conference of the United Church of Canada, heaved the block into place. The Edmonton Journal described:
The Reverend Doctor D.J.C. Elson lays Grace United’s cornerstone.
Edmonton Journal April 26, 1960.
“The service began with a scripture reading by W.T. Elkin, of St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, across the street from the new church.
Members of the congregation then came forward to place various documents in a copper box, which later was covered by the cornerstone. Mr and Mrs. Keith Simonson brought the roll of charter members…
Miss Ann Sutherland and Chester Peel placed documents from Sunday school in the box. James Fargey, recording secretary of the official board, also placed documents, as did Patrick Burns, chairman of the board of stewards.”
Construction persisted throughout the summer, and was complete by the end of August. The new building, erected at a cost of $175,000, featured seating for about 500 persons. Architecturally, Grace United’s masterful Prairie Style-influenced design sports an asymmetrical T-shaped layout with stepped massing — a rectangular base and A-frame roof — to demonstrate its two primary functions. A forward-fronting, low-slung hall represents the church’s social role in the neighbourhood, while its set-back, pitched roof represents its divine role. Such subtle symbolism became commonplace with mid-century church plans, as F. Bruce Brown articulated for a contemporary issue of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal:
“Surely as we dwell upon the ideas represented by the communion table, or upon the lessons read to us from the lectern, or upon the lofty ideals expounded from the pulpit, our reaction will be one of uplift. To meet a strong hard horizontal line at the back of the focal centre is to meet with frustration. This is the place for emphasis upon the ascending line to assist the upward flow of the thoughts engendered by participation in the acts of worship.”
A week-of-welcome opened Grace United in September 1960. Its formal dedication, patronized by Mayor Elmer Roper and City aldermen, took place on Friday the 9th. Its “First Sunday” — the building’s maiden service — followed on the 11th. Two guest ministers, Reverend Ray McCleary of Wood Green United Centre, Toronto, and Reverend Professor G. Lindsay Vaughn of St. Stephen’s College, led the service. A social gathering followed at 8:30 P.M.
Image Gallery:
Sources:
“United Churches: Grace United Church,” Edmonton Journal, November 2, 1957.
“Grace United Reports Growth,” Edmonton Journal, January 30, 1958.
“First Service Grace United,” Edmonton Journal, September 6, 1958.
“United Churches: Serving Hardest, Gold Bar, Fulton Place, Capilano, Grace United Church,” Edmonton Journal, October 25, 1958.
“Grace United Congregation Will Turn Sod For New Church,” Edmonton Journal, May 16, 1959.
“300 at Cornerstone Ceremony,” Edmonton Journal, April 26, 1960.
“Church’s Opening Planned,” Edmonton Journal, September 3, 1960.
“Special Opening Sunday For New East End Church,” Edmonton Journal, September 10, 1960.
“Johnston-Loewen: First Wedding Solemnized At New United Church,” Edmonton Journal, September 15, 1960.
F. Bruce Brown, “Building the House of God,” Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal No 371, Vol. 33, No 7, pg. 264.
