St. Andrew’s preparing to close its doors

After more than 120 years of Presbyterian worship in Fort Frances, St. Andrew’s Church will be closing its doors permanently Sept. 15.
The decision was made by the church Session—made up of members of the local congregation—in conjunction with the Presbytery of Superior.
“It was a very painful, tearful decision. There was a lot of discussion, lot of soul-searching,” said Session member Erma Armit.
A lack of membership was cited as the main cause for the closure. On average, about 25 people come to a worship service at St. Andrew’s each Sunday, Armit noted.
The church, located on the southeast corner of Victoria Avenue and Church Street, hasn’t had a full-time minister since 1999, when Rev. Mary Whitson left.
Much of the work involved in running the church was left to the five-member Session. “If the same few people are doing everything, it’s difficult,” Armit admitted.
“We have an older congregation and a lot of them can’t do it any more,” added Session member Cathy Robinson.
“We, quite frankly, have worn ourselves out,” echoed Jo-anne McCaig, another member of the Session.
In a letter to members of the congregation, the Session stated: “If we cannot be a congregation where families can grow in knowledge of God and gospel, built up by strong teaching and inspirational worship; if we cannot be a congregation that longs to bear fruit for Christ’s kingdom in Fort Frances, [then] the courageous and faithful decision is to free ourselves so as to be able to seek congregations where this is happening.”
St. Andrew’s has had student ministers since 1999, including Todd Statham, who stayed from last September until this past May, and Tony Chan, the current student minister who arrived after Statham.
In the absence of a student minister, the church welcomed the help of other local ministers to perform the Sunday service, the interim moderator from the Presbytery of Superior, or from members of the Session themselves.
“They were a big help,” Armit said.
Robinson noted the first discussion about closing the church was held back in February. Several more meetings were held throughout the spring before coming to the difficult decision to close.
The last regular worship service will be held Sunday, Sept. 12. “We plan to have it as a celebration of our treasured memories of the past,” said Armit.
The members have been collecting photographs and film footage to be made into a video highlighting the history of the church from its early days to the present.
The video will be viewed at the final Sunday service, and people interested in purchasing a copy will be able to do so through the production company.
Then on Wednesday, Sept. 15, members of the Presbytery of Superior will be on hand for a closing service at 7 p.m.
The public is welcome to attend both services. “Our church has always been open to anyone that wanted to come,” said McCaig.
Armit said the services will not be sad occasions, but opportunities to celebrate the history of the Presbyterian Church in Fort Frances. “We want to stay focused on the positive of the past and the positive of the future,” she stressed.
The church has a long history of making important contributions to the community, including participating in the local Salvation Army’s “Adopt a Family” program and donating to its food bank.
The church also donated the use of its basement to prepare the Salvation Army’s Christmas hampers.
St. Andrew’s has donated money and dry goods to David’s Deli, the soup kitchen located at the Joy of Life Fellowship Church, as well as the services of Chan in the kitchen there.
The church also has donated to the Presbyterian World Service for overseas missions.
“There was a lot of effort made not just to survive, but to thrive everywhere else,” noted Chan.
Now, the fate of the building and property is up to the national office, the Presbyterian Church in Canada. “They will no doubt try to sell it,” said Session member Dave Hughes.
The PCC was not available for comment as of press time today.
St. Andrew’s also is currently home to the Calvary Tabernacle Church, which sold its building on Butler Avenue earlier this year. That congregation is making use of the church on Victoria Avenue while their new church is under construction.
“The church won’t be sold until after the Calvary Tabernacle is in their own building,” Armit stressed.
St. Andrew’s history in Fort Frances is quite extensive, going back to 1926 when the church was first built at its present location.
But the Presbyterian Church’s history here goes back even farther, prior to 1880, when the first church was erected on the southeast corner of Mowat Avenue and Church Street.
A new church was built in 1885, and the congregation became part of the Presbytery of Superior 10 years later.
The following year, a new church was built on Church Street across from the courthouse. Then in 1925, a vote was taken on the United Church Act—an act to unify the Knox Presbyterian church with the Grace Methodist church.
The act was passed by two votes, and 50 members of the Knox congregation who voted against the union decided to build their own church and became known as “continuing Presbyterians.”
It was they who built the church where it currently stands. Though it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1963, almost 60 years to the day after the former church was destroyed by fire, the front and rear walls were left standing, and were incorporated into the rebuilt church.
In 1965, the congregation dropped the name “Knox” in favour of “St. Andrew’s.”