History - over 125 years
The history of a church is the story of not only a building but also a group of people who gather in faith to worship and to be God's presence in the world.
Centennial's history began with Methodism, a tradition which followed the spirit of going forth to take God's message of love and care to those who were outside the established church of John Wesley's time in the early 1700s. Methodists travelled to Canada in the 1780s but did not arrive in Victoria until February 10, 1858.
Members of Pandora Methodist Church felt that a church was needed in the north of the city so they started a local mission with a prayer meeting and Sunday School. Meetings were held in a building on King's Road and in 1885 the church was organised as Victoria North Methodist Church. A permanent structure was erected on Gorge Road and opened on December 20, 1885.
This congregation, true to the spirit of Methodism, sought ways to extend the Gospel. They were concerned about Victoria West and Esquimalt and so a separate mission in Victoria West was formed. Eventually the Gorge Road church was no longer large enough for the numbers attending and for the growth in the neighbourhood and in 1891 the present Sanctuary was constructed. In honour of the 100th anniversary of the death of John Wesley the new structure was dedicated as Centennial Methodist Church.
Although several organs were installed and provided musical inspiration over time, it was not until 1910 that the present organ was installed at Centennial by Casavant Freres of St. Hyacinthe, QC, the oldest continuing name in North American organ building.
Another effort to spread the Gospel resulted in the founding of a radio station in Centennial. Rev. Dr. Clem Davies, a Methodist Episcopal minister with a radio ministry in Hollywood, became Centennial's minister in 1922. To broadcast Sunday Worship services, arrangements were made with the Canadian Marconi Radio Company, Montreal, to install broadcasting equipment. The aerial mast was erected by the BC Telephone Company in line with the church spire. The Department of Radio in Ottawa granted a licence for a station with call letters, CFCL ('Centennial First, Centennial Last'). With a wave-length of 410 meters, and power of 500 watts, only one other station on the Pacific Coast and the U.S. equalled this power.
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1923, Centennial became the pioneer church in broadcasting Sunday church services for Western Canada. Centennial also inaugurated Easter Sunday Sunrise Services that same Sunday as Rev. Davies conducted the service at 7:00 a.m. on Mount Tolmie. The first public address system of that time was used to convey the message to the vast crowd that gathered. When Rev. Davies left Centennial, the station was moved to the top floor of Central Building on View Street. Rev. Davies later turned the station over to the Daily Colonist with a change of call letters to CJVI.
The church spire was removed in 1931 when it was deemed 'unsafe'.
In 1925 Centennial underwent its third name change, becoming Centennial United Church when the Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists joined to form The United Church of Canada, the first truly Canadian church enacted by Parliament.
Many Prairie people spend their winters in Victoria avoiding the harsh prairie cold. The 'Prairie Night' service began in 1946 to bring together friends in the city who were from the prairies. People from other parts of Canada, and indeed, the world, have found Prairie Night to be a great place for them to meet up with transplanted Canadians. An interesting guest speaker, prayer and music, followed by refreshments and social hour, made this a popular event. Each year inhabitants of the various Prairie provinces vie as to which province will have the most attendees.
The Roundabout, the Centennial newsletter, was started in 1962 to help connect members of the church, providing them with inspiration and information about church activities.
Because numbers were growing in the Sunday School and they required more space, the Board authorised the construction of the Howard Harris Building in 1962 to accommodate a gymnasium and classrooms.
Family and Children's Service approached Centennial United Church in 1966 with a proposal for a Day Care centre in which the City of Victoria would supply the teachers and the church would supply the rooms. This centre was to meet definite domestic and social needs (e.g., mothers and fathers, abandoned by their partners, who needed care for their children; children ill-treated by parents who had reached the breaking point because of life's pressures; young mothers who wanted a safe place to leave their children while they went to work to support the home). Wilna Thomas, a member of Centennial who helped set up and teach in Camosun College's Social Work program, formed the Camosun College Group Day Care Society in 1977 along with Nora Lutton. They began operating that society's first daycare program when they took over this provincial government-run program and called it Centennial Day Care Centre. Later, in 1990, the non-profit Centennial Day Care Society was formed and this society took over the running of the Centennial Day Care Centre's programs.