In 1904 the Presbyterians, with the assistance of the Methodists, built a Presbyterian church, commonly referred to as the Union Church on Beach Avenue at Third Street. The year 1904 was a banner year for community buildings as it was also in this year that the Orange
Hall came into being. ...the highly structured, Protestant Orange Order attracted members of all denominations, except of course Roman Catholics, and their Halls became centres of activity for religious, educational and cultural groups. ...in 1906 the Methodists started holding their services there followed in 1907 by the Baptists.
A motion made as the result of [a disagreement with the Presbyterians over use of the Union Church] is of significant importance. It reads:
“
Moved by Bro(ther) Dr. Lipsett sec(onded) by Bro(ther) Douglas that we shall be called the Peachland Methodist Church. Carried.” Thus, Peachland United Church can positively trace its lineage to 19th August, 1907.
The Methodists finally achieved their goal [of building their own church] in 1911 and on November 5th celebrated the dedication of
their brand new church on 4th Street.
In 1919 the church held a service to celebrate the burning of the mortgage and in the following year, old animosities long forgotten, the Presbyterians joined with the Methodists in sharing the new
church. The Presbyterian congregation had dwindled to such an extent that it was not practical to go it alone so a joint venture with the Methodists involving alternating ministers became a logical solution. This jointly occupied building was generally referred to as the Union Church. The 1904 Presbyterian Church thus became redundant and was sold to the Municipality of Peachland in 1920 and used as a municipal office, a library and meeting rooms.
The term “Union” took on a much greater significance in 1925 when on June 10th in Toronto the Methodist Church, the Congregational Church and 70 percent of the Presbyterian Church joined together to form the United Church of Canada. To quote from the official United Church of Canada history – “
It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines and hence received international acclaim. Impetus for the union arose out of a concern for serving the vast Canadian northwest and the desire for better overseas mission.”
From the Peachland United Church