Blyth United’s origins come from both the Methodist and Presbyterian traditions, starting with two congregations in the mid 1800’s, though itinerant preachers provided spiritual care to the communities in the years prior to.
In 1858, the Presbyterians originally built a church where the Horticultural Park is now located. Their second church building, where the current Blyth United Church building is now located, was built in 1877. It was at that point the congregation was renamed St. Andrew’s Presbyterian. A fire in 1909 destroyed the manse and church drive shed, but were rebuilt.
The Methodist congregation was formed in 1860, and built a church building two years after. They erected a new church building in 1889 on Queen Street. This church building is now home to the Blyth Christian Reformed Church, after originally being sold to the Continuing Presbyterian congregation upon amalgamation.
In 1925, the United Church of Canada was formed between the Methodists, Congregationalists, and a majority of the Presbyterian congregations. While both congregations voted to join the United Church, they did not immediately become one congregation. Originally, both congregations worshipped alternating between the Queen St. and Dinsley St. buildings every six months.
There were some opposed to amalgamation, but the reality of the Great Depression and the will of those who wanted to unite resulted in the amalgamation of the two congregations, becoming Blyth United Church. They decided to use the former St. Andrew’s building on Dinsley St. as their permanent home.
In 1962, A ew church building was erected at the site, with the dedication taking place on Oct. 28, 1962. Further efforts have been made to make the building more accessible over the years, including the recent addition of a stair lift to the sanctuary and basement hall.
Blyth United has an active UCW and choir, local and global outreach initiatives, and a strong form of outreach in their meals and baking for local events and arena games. Past initiatives have included the well-regarded “Women’s Day Out”. In the past decade, Blyth United has joined Brussels United in a collaborative ministry, where they share a minister and some joint mission projects, but maintain their own identity as congregations and emphasize their presence in the local community.
For more about Blyth’s history, check out Eva Sippel’s piece on Blyth United’s history from 2017 in the Huron Citizen.
Brussels & Blyth United Churches 