Madawaska

St. Paul and St. James, Madawaska, Ontario
Service Time is 03:00 PM

The amalgamation of St. James United from Cross Lake with St. Paul’s United took place in 1967. St. Paul’s and St. James celebrated their centennial in 1999, and marked the celebration with the publication of a 65 page book, 1899-1999: St. Paul’s and St. James.
We are proud of an active United Church Women’s Group which helps with fundraising for the church.
Our congregational goals are to involve adherents and to recruit new members.
The average weekly attendance is 15, and fifty percent of the congregation is elderly.

We have a dedicated group of lay volunteers who help with the service as scripture readers, with serving communion and with the reading of Minute for Mission.

We are fortunate to have an organist to share the gift of music with us on Sunday.

The lumber and railroad boom in the 1890's with the famous lumber king, J.R. Booth brought many settlers to Madawaska. It became the central point of the 20 trains a day running from Parry Sound to Ottawa, carrying lumber, wheat, supplies, passengers and soldiers during the First World War.  The population exploded into the thousands with a railway yard, which included a coal-chute, water tank, a round house, a station, freight sheds and company houses for their employees.  There was a store, a bank, post office, hotel, restaurant, three churches, two schools and a hall.  In 1899, a Presbyterian Church was built on the shore of the Madawaska River.  On June 10, 1925, this Presbyterian Church entered the union of the Presbyterians, the Methodists and Congregationalists and became known as St. Paul,s United Church.

By the 1940's, the C.N.R. began to dismantle most of the rail buildings in Madawaska, as a slump in the railway and lumber business had begun in the mid 20's.  In 1941, St. Paul's became a Mission and was served by young theology students each summer from 1942-1962.  Also in 1942, the Ontario Hydro constructed a power dam on the Madawaska River causing extensive flooding in the town of Madawaska.  Many buildings had to be moved and St. Paul's was pulled over laid steel rails with bulldozers to its present site.

On August 30, 1964,the last service was held at St. James United Church in the small settlement of Cross Lake and the small congregation began to worship with St. Paul's.  The official amalgamation of the two congregations took place in 1967, but the name St. Paul and St. James United Chuch didn't become official until 1995.

In 1965, Madawaska and Whitney Charge left the Renfrew Presbytery and joined the Maynooth and Lake St. Peter churches to become the Maynooth-Madawaska Charge under the Peterborough Presbytery.

The church continues with a small regual congregation of 12 members and the U.C.W. group keeps us supported with their fundraisers of Yard/Bake Sales, Roast Beef Supper, Raffles and selling Regal products.