In 1927, Two United Church Of Canada Congregations Merged To Form Bankview-Scarboro United Church. Both Bankview Methodist Church And Bankview Presbyterian Church Had Been Established In 1908, And Both Congregations Entered Into The 1925 Church Union That Created The United Church Of Canada. The Two Churches Amalgamated In 1927, And In October 1928, The Congregation Formed A Building Committee To Construct A New Edifice. The Present Site Was Acquired In 1929 For $2,250.00, And That Spring The Cornerstone Was Laid By Future Prime Minister R.b. Bennett And Former Mayor, Mla And Provincial Cabinet Minister W.h. Cushing. Calgary Architects Fordyce And Stevenson Designed The New Church; The Contractors Were Carlson And Richards. The Construction Cost Was $44,458.00.
Scarboro Avenue United Church (As It Was Initially Called) Was Dedicated On Sunday, November 17, 1929, In A Service That Also Included Dedication Of The Nine Memorial Windows. Rev. Dr. G.w. Kerby, Founding Principal Of Mount Royal College, Was In Charge Of The Service. Rev. John H. Garden, Scarboro's Minister At The Time, Had Been The First Student Registered At Mount Royal College. Garden Later Replaced Kerby In 1942 And Remained Principal Of The College Until 1958.
The Church's Cassavant Organ, Purchased By The Ladies' Aid For $6,225.00, Was Dedicated On March 9, 1930. The Manse, Which Stands Adjacent To The Church, Was Constructed In 1944-1945 At A Cost Of $10,600.00. In November 1947, Coinciding With The Building's 18Th Anniversary, The Congregation Held Its "burning Of The Mortgage" Service. A Memorial Hall, Which Included A Modern Kitchen, A Sunday School Room And Recreational Facilities For Church Clubs, Was Constructed In 1951. The $45,000.00 Addition Was Dedicated To "members Of The Congregation Who Served In The Two Great Wars".
By 1955, The Congregation Had Grown To Nearly 1,000 Members, And In 1956-1957 A Further Addition To The Building Included Transepts (Reportedly Part Of The Original Design), A Caretaker's Suite, A Chapel And Offices. The New Chapel Was Dedicated On September 29, 1957.
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