History of Southampton United Church

The serene and natural setting of our area on the shores of Lake Huron, promotes beauty, art and music, reminding us of our Creator and His great provision for our happiness. On the north shore of the Saugeen River in the area of Chippewa Village, the first Protestant service was held by the Methodist Missionaries in 1829. The first church building was built by the Wesleyan Methodists on the south side of Clarendon Street in 1853.

The following year the New Connexion Methodists built another small church on the corner of Lansdowne and Albert Streets. Both churches prospered and in 1891 they joined together as one Methodist Church and built a new church on the south west corner of High and Victoria Streets. This is the present day Lutheran Church.

In 1906, construction of a new Methodist church in Gothic Revival style began on the south east corner. Thanks to a very large gift from the Bowman family, the present church building, costing approximately $12,000, opened two years later, debt free, complete with a Karn pipe organ, golden oak pews, beautiful stained glass windows (the large one in memory of Andrew Graham) and an elegant choir loft.The opening ceremonies were held on November 6, 1908.

There have been many gift donations over the years to make our house of worship more meaningful. In 1965 our organ was electrified and the console replaced and lowered. Thirty-five years later, in the year 2000, it was again upgraded and added to at considerable cost and we are blessed by and are very proud of this beautiful instrument.

Outwardly the church building looks much the same as on opening day but there have been many updates to keep it in a safe and sound condition and also improve its functionality. Some of these changes have been a new roof, new wiring and plumbing, kitchen improvements, offices for both minister and secretary (just off the social hall) new furnaces and ceiling fans, safety glass to protect our valuable stained glass windows, landscaping, dry walling the Sunday School rooms (now downstairs), a new state of the art sound system and a much improved and safer stairway down to the kitchen from the social hall. In 2013 the chancel was updated to make it more functional and accessible, creating one large, low platform with a ramp, and new stairs leading to the choir loft. Great care was taken to preserve the beauty of our sanctuary which is also enhanced throughout the year by the efforts of our Banner and Decorating Teams.

Over the years we have been served by twenty-five clergy and each one has brought his forte to our congregation and we have all grown spiritually with their projects and direction. In our present congregation we have four retired ministers who have given freely of their time and expertise for the benefit of our church family. We are indebted to our past and present organists and choir masters, along with the faithful choir members, for the enhancement of our worship services and through their concerts. We can also boast of our other instrumentalists as well as the Chapel Winds which is a wind band that participates in our services from time to time.

Drama was also an exciting ministry in our services and was presented regularly by The Village Readers. Spirituality has been nurtured over the years and after studying our strengths and weaknesses, we produced a Mission Statement. We have held and participated in Ecumenical services, supported missions, Food Grains Bank, and Disaster Relief as well as local outreach. With Christian love, our congregations of past and present have worked hard and donated freely towards keeping our congregation and church home both well and alive.

We are proud of our pioneer roots and accomplishments and are confident that we will continue to grow in spirit and caring in the future.

Thanks to Ruth Johnson for compiling this history