Mount Hope Celebrates 150 Years
Mount Hope (Ont.) Christian
Reformed Church hosted a special service to mark the 150th year of their building and the ministry happening there.
On Sunday, May 24, about 70 people gathered at Mount Hope CRC, including around 10 members of the congregation who used to call the building home—Mount Hope United Church—for a service celebrating God’s faithfulness in providing ministry in that community space for 150 years.
After the service, congregants and visitors fellowshipped over refreshments, shared stories and memories, and perused photos and information boards about the building and various members through the years.
Mount Hope United Church stewarded the building until their congregation disbanded in 2017. After that, Mount Hope CRC moved into the building, changing their name from Mount Hamilton CRC.
Mount Hope is an area just outside of Hamilton, Ont., explained John Demik, a member of the planning committee for the event. “It sits sort of out on its own in the city and is its own community. We've reached out and learned that for some people, this is the ‘village church,’” he added. Local people provided many of the photos and historical information to the event planning committee, he said.
The church was first built to house a Methodist congregation in 1876, said Demik. “I think the United Church members were pleased that their church building would continue to be a house of God. There's a type of comfort you can get when you realize that people attended this church by horse and buggy, and it stands today with air conditioning and a parking lot. The organ is electric, and the speakers for the bells are controlled by wifi. But God is the same; he continues to watch over his children, and Christians continue to worship here.”
While Mount Hope CRC’s ownership of the building is relatively new, its members wanted to note the building’s anniversary. Marlene Knevel, office administrator and custodian for the church, said their community service team and worship committee took on the event planning and completed it in about three months.
Knevel noted that members of the former Mount Hope United Church who attended said they were grateful to be there, adding that it was nostalgic for them to be in the building again.
“This is a small town,” Knevel said, “and it indeed shows God's faithfulness that for 150 years an active church has been represented in this building.”
