Presbyterian Church closes its doors, new ministry to open them

Cochrane Times news ^ | 8 Dec 2011 | Mark Prior

[Cronos]

Cochrane's Knox Presbyterian Church held its last service Sunday.

The membership of the Church has declined over the years to now only being a handful, most of which commute from out of town.

The lack of members resulted in difficulties with maintaining the building regularly, which lead to the collective decision to relocate.

Although a snowstorm lefts road conditions difficult to drive, over a dozen people were present for the emotional and historical time.

Members of different churches were present for the service in support of their fellow Christians.

Speaker Clint Sheehan gave a sermon about 'Great and Sovereign Grace', sharing personal memories and related them to the current state of the Knox Presbyterian Church members in Cochrane.

Clint along with Regional Minister Rev. Arlene Onuoha expressed clearly this is only a transition stage, a 'new page turned, rather than closing the book'.

Hymnals were sung and prayers were made, an emotional stable mood resonated until the testimonies were given by members of the Church.

Fond memories were shared by several members of the Church. One testimony was given by Donald McRoberts, who explained his helping with renovations and practical assistance with building maintenance as well as his families personal history with the Church.

"The church needed an organist so my mom came here and played. In our household that changed how we looked at our mom, and that's when we realized what Christianity was all about, her actions spoke volumes. As a result some of us in our family looked at God and Christ in a different way."

Paster Robert Cox, of the Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church was in attendance and shared his thoughts on the historic event of the final service.

"It's an interesting thing because I didn't know they were not thinking of it as a closing, but more of a transition. I'm glad to hear that Ernie is officially taking over the building."

The building was sold to Ernie Linklater, an alcohol and drug councillor for Taykwa Tagamou Nation.

"Me and my wife came here 8 years ago, hoping to help the young people. And we found out our young people are involved right here in Cochrane, and we heard the building was for sale so we got it.

Linklater explained the services being offered by his project is for everyone who suffers from addiction, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

"The building will be used for Church services, for young and old people. We're hoping to reach those whose problems are with alcohol and drugs. The answer for this is Jesus Christ, there is no other way. Our goal is to give them a place to go."

The church has been one of the oldest Protestant congregations in Cochrane. The first records of the Presbyterian Church in Canada is from the February 28, 1908. The first Church building was built the corner of 5th Ave. and 5th Street, where it was destroyed by the fire of July 1911 ruined the building.

One month after the fire, the Church decided to rebuild the building at the North end of 6th Ave, where it held its first service following the fire Jan.14, 1912.

[Cronos]

The membership of the Church has declined over the years to now only being a handful

[Carthego delenda est]

“The answer for this is Jesus Christ, there is no other way.”

[CalvaryJohn]

Cochrane appears to be a satellite of Calgary. The publishers need to realize people around the world now read this publication yet may not know where Cochrane is.

[iowamark]

The newspaper is in Cochrane, Ontario. Eastern Ontario.

[bagman]

Thanks for identifying the location. It is frequently difficult to determine where many of these threads originate. When we start a thread, we need to make sure that it is clear in what state / province / commonwealth the action being reported is located.