More Local History

Unitarian Universalist Church of Saint John

In the early 1850's when Saint John was a flourishing seaport and many newcomers were finding employment here, a group of Unitarians began to meet regularly in Lancaster, typically in the homes of American lumber barons who were Unitarians and had become residents of the city for business reasons. Two such homes are pictured below, each having been substantially expanded over time as their owners prospered. The first was known as Jewett’s Castle and the second belonged to George Byron Cushing. There were other prominent Non-American local citizens of the time who were also Unitarians including the Chief Justice of the Province, Sir James Carter.

Jewett’s Castle (above), located at the top of Prince Street where the DVA Hospital was later located.

In 1862, Rev. H.A. Philbrook, minister of the Universalist church in Milltown, N.B. held a meeting in Saint John which was attended by over 300 people. The numbers may at least partly reflect the influence of Unitarian employers of the time. But, during those early years there was no formal organized Unitarian or Universalist church in the City.

During the summers of 1874 and 1875, the American Unitarian Association sent a number of ministers to the City to hold service and public meetings with the goal of establishing a formal presence for the denomination. In late September, 1875, the "First Unitarian Society of St John" was organized under the leadership of Rev. S.B. Rawson, a retired professor from a Universalist theological school. By that time, the members were meeting regularly in Hamilton's Hall at the corner of Union and Coburg Streets, and these quarters came to be referred to as "Unitarian Hall."

The Bible pictured on the previous Out History and Sources page was presented to the new congregation in 1875 by George Byron Cushing, one of the founders.

Rawson served until 1877, and was followed by Rev. John Wills (1877-1878), Rev. Roland Wood (1878-1880) and, finally, Rev. Francis Thatcher (1880-1882), after which the society declined and gradually dissolved.

In 1888, the Universalist Church in Halifax sent Rev. Costello Weston to the City to try to revive the group as a Universalist society. The effort was unsuccessful and, in 1890, Weston left for greener pastures.

Later that same year, however, a local Presbyterian minister, Dr. Archibald MacDougall, was forced out of his pulpit because of his "New Theology" views, taking many from his congregation with him. The group adopted the name "Church of the Messiah" and subsequently affiliated with the Unitarian denomination. The group met initially at "Union Hall" on Main Street. Then, in 1895, a church building was constructed on the southwest corner of Hazen Avenue and Chipman Street as pictured below.

This church continued to function until 1906 when, due to dwindling membership, the congregation disbanded and the church building was sold to the local Jewish congregation. In 1932, the building was demolished. Today the site is a parking lot for the YM-YWCA.

The congregation’s Bible reverted to being with the Cushing family, who had first presented it back in 1875.

There is no known record of any organized Universalist or Unitarian activity in Saint John from the early 1900's until the early 1960's when the "Saint John Unitarian Fellowship" was formed. This lay-led society was active during the 1960's, 1970's and well into the 1980's. In 1962, a building was purchased at 219 Germain Street and named "Unitarian House". This building pictured below served the congregation until it was sold in 1975.

On November 18, 1962, there was a service to dedicate the new Unitarian House at which the Cushing family represented the original 1875 Bible to the congregation. It remains in the possession of the congregation to this day, although in modern Unitarian Universalist congregations the Bible is just one of several religious authorities from which we draw inspiration.

After a period of inactivity during the late1980's and early 1990's, the Saint John Unitarian Fellowship was revived by a dedicated group consisting of long-time members of the Fellowship and newcomers to the area, many of them with UU roots elsewhere. In June 1997, the present name "Unitarian Universalist Church of Saint John" was adopted. The accommodations now pictured on our Services page are rented on Sundays for a few hours or on other days as required. This frees us up to use our resources mainly to serve the needs of Church programs.

The foregoing notes have been compiled mostly by Randy Pollock and augmented with further information and all the photographs obtained from Doug Devine. Doug has prepared a wonderful and very comprehensive history of the church available as a separate document of about 30 pages altogether.