TO GOD BE THE GLORY

be located in a residential area. Perhaps the strongest reason for replacing the church was the increase in size of the congregation. From 1946 to 1964 the number of communicants had grown from 243 to 424.

Many meetings were held and there was much discussion about building a new church. A Building Com- mittee was appointed in 1964 with Arnold MacLennan as Chairperson. An early consensus reached by the congregation was clear - there were grave concerns about putting the congregation heavily in debt. Rev. Mr. Mackay’s suggestion, although not voted down, was deferred by the congregation to a more suitable time.

The disagreement over building a new church had been primarily between two groups within the congre— gation: the conservatives and the progressives. The former group saw the construction of a new and larger church as irresponsible, incurring a debt that would never be paid off in their generation. They bemoaned the fact that the burden of debt would be passed on to their children. The latter group, the progressives, led by Rev. Mr. Mackay, were just as adamant in their be- lief that a church congregation cannot survive and face modern challenges with antiquated ideas and resources. After the initial rejection of his proposal Rev. Mr. Mackay and his supporters were undeterred. Determined to win broader congregational support for the idea of a new church they began to explore options available for the replacement of the existing church without undue, long-term debt.

Before he could witness his dream fulfilled Rev. J. Donald Mackay was called to Westminster Church, New Glasgow, N.S. Prior to his departure, and cognizant of

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