- Corporate body
- [ca. 1849] -
A pastoral charge is a grouping of churches termed "preaching points" -- each with separate names and governing boards or sessions. These churches are served by one minister. The pastoral charge title usually reflects the breadth of the geographic area encompassing the charge.
Shediac Pastoral Charge is located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Preaching points are at Trinity United Church.
There was a Presbyterian congregation meeting in the Scotch Settlement area as early as 1849. The congregation originally started as the Church of Scotland, changed to the Free Church, went back as a Church of Scotland in 1865, and eventually switched back to the Free Church.
The old meeting house at Scotch Settlement near the new Presbyterian church was totally destroyed by fire with all its contents on February 17, 1886. The present church building was dedicated on March 28, 1886.
In the fall of 1891, the Presbyterians of Shediac, Scotch Settlement, and Cocagne united and were supplied by the same minister. On July 14, 1912, the Presbytery of Saint John bestowed on Shediac, Humphreys, and Scotch Settlement the status of a congregation instead of a Home Mission Field. In 1925, the Presbyterian churches in this area became part of The United Church of Canada.
Methodism in the Shediac area had its roots with Robert Atkinson, a circuit rider who travelled through the area to promote the building of a Methodist Church. In 1826, Methodist ministers meeting in Saint John decided to acquire land for the erection of a church in Shediac as there was discussion of a rail line being built to Shediac. Shediac was originally part of the Petitcodiac Methodist Circuit. The first church in this area was built in 1841 and was later enlarged in the 1850s. In 1855, Shediac became part of the Moncton Methodist Circuit and in 1861, Shediac and Dorchester became a separate circuit. In 1873, Shediac became the head of its own circuit and included the preaching points of Shediac and Shediac Corner (Lakeville). In 1878, the church at Shediac was sold and the money invested in the land already obtained in the village of Shediac as the site for a new church. Construction was started on the new church in 1879 and the building was dedicated on October 31, 1880. In 1889, the Shediac Circuit was changed to include only Sheidac and Lakeville. Lakeville became part of the Sunny Brae Circuit in 1895 but rejoined the Shediac circuit in 1909 only to go back to Sunny Brae in 1910. The church building in Shediac was destroyed by fire in 1893 and a new building was dedicated on September 2, 1894. A manse was purchased in 1906. Shediac Methodist Circuit became part of The United Church of Canada in 1925.
The Methodists in the Lakeville area held meetings in their homes until a church building was completed in the fall of 1879. The building was formally dedicated on February 1, 1880.
After the creation of The United Church of Canada, the Methodist Church in Shediac became Trinity United Church and was joined by St. David’s United Church of Scotch Settlement (formerly Presbyterian) to make a 2 point charge. During the 1930s, the boundaries of the Shediac Charge were enlarged to include McKee’s Mills, Notre Dame, Coates Mills, and Buctouche along with Scotch Settlement and Shediac. In July 1, 1941, the pastoral charge boundaries were changed to include only the 2 original points of Shediac and Scotch Settlement.
On July 4, 1954, Lakeville United Church transferred from the Humphrey Memorial Pastoral Charge to became part of the Shediac Pastoral Charge. In 2008, Lakeville United Church and St. David’s United Church in Scotch Settlement formed a separate Pastoral Charge known as Lakeville-St. David’s and Trinity United Church in Shediac became the sole point on the Shediac Pastoral Charge.