1889 1958
1983
On the first page of our 2015 Haney Church history book (available from the church library) is a statement: “Who we are as a church today is a direct result of the journey of faith begun by those who travelled before us.” But who came before us here in Maple Ridge?
We owe the establishment of our Presbyterian roots to many, but especially to two men – the Reverend Alexander Dunn and the Reverend J. Murdo Pollock.
Although the inaugural Synod of the Canada Presbyterian Church sent Rev. Robert Jamieson from Ontario to the British Columbia colony where he began work in the Fraser Valley and held periodic services from 1862 until he left for Victoria in 1875, it was not until Alexander Dunn arrived in 1875 that regular worship services began. In September of that year the Presbytery of B.C. was organized, and one of its first acts was the ordination of the Reverend Dunn. It was the first ordination service of a minister conducted in British Columbia.
Dunn held his first service in Port Hammond in the home of Jean Sloan’s grandfather, John McIver in October 1875. That became the nucleus of the congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church which is still standing as a heritage building in Port Haney. However, during the church union vote in 1925 all but four of the St. Andrew’s members voted to become part of the United Church of Canada. The remaining four Presbyterians and a small group of continuing Presbyterians from the Hammond congregation decided to become a joint charge.
By the time the Rev. J. Murdo Pollock arrived in 1947 a small Hammond congregation was the only Presbyterian church in the Valley on the north side of the Fraser River. Pollock established new congregations in Mission and Haney. He conducted morning services in Mission, afternoon services in Hammond, and evening ones in Haney, beginning the latter on the evening of November 6, 1949.
In about 1950-51 Presbyterians from Hammond, Pitt Meadows and Haney amalgamated. They continued to meet in the Masonic Hall and in Saywright’s (aka Whitebone’s) Funeral Home until, still under Mr. Pollock’s ministry, a church was erected on 223rd Street “about four doors north of 119th Avenue”. It was dedicated on March 30, 1958.
Following the departure of Rev. Pollock in 1961, ministry continued under several other leaders:
1964 – 1974 Rev. John E. Nute
1975 – 1980 Rev. Douglas W. Maxwell
1981 – 1987 Rev. Rex G. Krepps
1988 – 1993 Rev. Scott E. Carlson
1994 – 2003 Rev. Robert C. Garvin
2004 Rev. R. Dorne Cornish (Interim Minister)
2004 – 2005 Rev. Kristian R. Davidson
2005 – 2006 Rev. R. Dorne Cornish (Interim Minister)
2006 – 2017 Rev. Dr. Gerard M. Booy
2018 – present Rev. J. Paddy Eastwood
In June of 1981 the congregation approved plans for a new church to be built on 216th Street, and during the ministry of the Rev. Rex Krepps our current building was dedicated on October 2, 1983. In 2000 an addition was added on the east side of the building — Jean Sloan Hall provided new offices, an elevator and lobby, a gym and expanded kitchen facilities.
Through portions of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Presbyterians have lived, worked and worshipped in Maple Ridge, sharing the love of Christ and witnessing to His gospel. As the congregation of Haney Presbyterian Church, we celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2024 and look toward our tomorrows. May we be faithful in continuing this ministry.
October 2024 – CJG