The Presbyterian church of the town of mount-royal

Worship

Every Sunday service start: 11:00 a.m.

Minister: Bruce Gourlay

The slideshow on the right is from a trip to Italy.

From THE HOLY BIBLE
'The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ...'
Psalm 23, A psalm of David

'1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.'
Proverbs 22

Invest in Many Ventures
' 1 Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.'
Ecclesiastes 11

The Word Became Flesh 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.'
John 1

The Coming of the Kingdom of God
' Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”'
Luke 17

History

Brief Timeline of THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN TMR

As early as 1924 there was interest generated by William C. Scott, a member of Livingstone Presbyterian Church, to form a church to serve the needs of the community. However, in early 1925 the vote for church union was called, and the congregation that met at Mount Royal decided to stay with the United Church.

It was not until the autumn of 1944 that four men came together and discussed the possibility of establishing a Presbyterian congregation in the town of Mount Royal. One of these four men was the charismatic Reverend Stanford Reid. The hope was to create a company of committed Christians sitting on the edge of an increasingly secular culture. In this congregation there would be no fundraising, and no social club type of events. November of that same year thirty-eight worshippers met at the town hall and the interest continued to grow.

February of 1945, the Presbytery of Montreal officially recognized Mount Royal Presbyterian Church and established The Rev. Reid as the minister. At this point the members meet in various locations: the town hall, Dunrae Gardens School, and the Baptist Church, but this was only a temporary solution. In 1951, the old United Church building was purchased, which is the present day site of the church.

With this acquisition the church continued to grow under Rev. Reid’s leadership, until later in 1951 Reid resigned from his position to take on a teaching job at McGill University. After a short discerning process a call was issued to the Rev. E. P. Aikens, who was better known as Eldie, in the fall of 1951.

Under Rev. Aiken’s leadership the church flourished. He was a beloved character and is still looked upon with great fondness and respect by many of members of Mount Royal Presbyterian. Plans then emerged to start the building of a new Christian Education Building and a new sanctuary, which was completed and dedicated on March 6th, 1958.

In 1962 there were 733 members on the roll and 317 children. At this time the first director of Christian Education was appointed, and the congregation seemed to place a greater emphasis upon youth and teaching.

However, as the second half of this century hit membership began a state of decline, and a general spiritual apathy had begun to set in. By 1975 it did seem that there was some new life breathed back into the congregation, but things were just not the same and numbers continued to decline.

Then in the early 1980’s the first referendum and as a result of the emphasis upon the French language many businesses and head offices moved from Quebec. This proved to be very costly for the congregation at Mount Royal Presbyterian, because many of its members worked for the head offices and had to move to where their jobs were. So membership remained in a state of steady decline.

However, In 1980 McVicar Memorial Church amalgamated with Mount Royal Presbyterian, and this amalgamation brought with it many people who would become stalwarts of the congregation in years to come.

Also, in 1986, Jonas Antepim became the first refugee from Ghana to become a member of the congregation. This relationship continued to grow and flourished in years to come, and to this day the majority of the congregation has roots in Ghana.

Unfortunately, 1988 brought about another huge blow for the congregation. It was in this year that the Rev. Aikens retired from ministry after nearly thirty-seven years of faithful service and dedication with Mount Royal Presbyterian.

After he retired the Rev. Hugh Jack, assistant minister at the church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, took the call to become the minister of Mount Royal Presbyterian. This relationship did not last long, and by 1995 Rev. Jack resigned from the position. So with no minister, a constant state of deaths, and many transferring their membership, Mount Royal Presbyterian saw a large decline in members.

In the following years the leadership fell upon student ministers, in particular Mr. Kevin MacDonald who served several years, and upon local ministers to conduct the sacraments and deliver the sermons.

It was not until 2006 that the congregation was given permission by the Presbytery of Montreal to call a minister. A call was then issued to the Rev. Bruce Gourlay begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, who accepted and now serves as the present minister.