TO GOD BE THE GLORY

rian Church was seriously challenged by several events between 1925 and 1945. In 1925 many Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist Churches joined to form the new United Church of Canada. Like most Pres- byterian Church congregations elsewhere on Prince Edward Island, Church Union was a divisive issue within Summerside Presbyterian Church. In 1924 there were 300 communicants in the church. When the vote was taken on Jan. 12, 1925 to decide if the congregation would “go United” or “stay Presbyterian,” one hundred members of the Summerside congregation voted for union while 123 were against. An additional vote of the “adherents” of the church was also taken and twenty-five were in favour of union and forty-six against. The combined total of both votes was 125 in favour of Union and 169 against. Consequently, Summerside Presbyterian Church stayed Presbyterian although much reduced in the size of its congregation.

When Church Union was officially proclaimed a few months later five elders and ninety—five communi- cants withdrew from Summerside Presbyterian Church. Theyjoined with the Methodist Church to form the new Trinity United Church which held inaugural services on June 14, 1925. It had been a severe blow to Summerside Presbyterian Church. Four of the eight elders of Summerside Presbyterian Church became elders of the new Trinity United Church: Douglas Gordon, Hooper Linkletter, A. Stirling MacKay, and Major W. Townsend.

At the end of 1925 church membership at Summerside Presbyterian Church stood at 120 fami- lies and 201 communicants. The Presbyterians kept

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