Early History

Between 1850 and 1866, Presbyterian services were held in Little Glace Bay by Rev. Dr. Hugh Macleod, Minister of Union Presbyterian Church, Mira Ferry; MacLeod had come to Cape Breton in 1849 from the Free Church of Scotland. In March 1867, the Rev. Alexander Farquharson Jr. was inducted as the first minister of the newly formed (December 1866) congregation in Glace Bay. The following year, a church building was constructed by the congregation on the corner of Commercial and York Streets. In 1895, a larger church was constructed by the firm of Rhodes and Currie in the Romanesque Revival style, and the congregation officially became known as St. Paul's. The church was dedicated by the Rev. Dr. James Robertson. In 1908, a pipe organ was installed by Casavant Frères.

In 1912, a fire destroyed the interior of the church. Rebuilding the facilities took some time. The 50th anniversary of St Paul's was in 1916 but was not celebrated until 1918.

In 1925, The Presbyterian Church in Canada voted to merge with the Methodist Church of Canada and the Congregationalist Union to form the United Church of Canada. St. Paul's congregation, and about 30% of other Presbyterian congregations in Canada, voted not to participate in the merger and remained independent of the newly formed church.

The 100th Anniversary was celebrated in 1966 with special services on September 27, October 2 with a gaelic language service, October 9, and October 16 with a Chinese language service. As a special project of the congregation for the 100th Anniversary, new stained glass windows were installed in the sanctuary. The windows were designed by Gerald E. Mesterom and built by Montreal Stained Glass and Art Works of Pointe-Claire, Quebec. They were dedicated by the Moderator of the General Assembly, Rev. Dr. G. Deane Johnston of Brantford, Ontario.

New Beginnings

In 1984, the future of the then current church building began to be discussed. Concerns about structural integrity, repair costs, and functionality were raised as the congregation struggled with the choice of trying to correct the problems in the existing structure of move to a new building. A decision was made in 1991 to construct a new church on Brookside Street in Glace Bay, and in July architects Gavel and Associations began designing a new facility. In 1993, the sod was turned on the new construction, and the church in which the congregation currently meets was constructed.

The Ministers of st. paul's

  • 1867-1875 Rev. Alex Farquharson
  • 1877-1878 Rev. Alan McLean
  • 1881-1903 Rev. James A. Forbes
  • 1903-1926 Rev. Donald. M. Gillies
  • 1927-1931 Rev. F. Wight Tingley
  • 1932-1939 Rev. Charles S. Miller
  • 1940-1944 Rev. W. Scott Duncan
  • 1945-1954 Rev. Samuel Kerr
  • 1955-1958 Rev. W.D. Nicholson
  • 1959-1963 Rev. Rev. Murray Fraser
  • 1963-1967 Rev. Wallace MacKinnon
  • 1968-1972 Rev. Paul Walker
  • 1973-1984 Rev. Angus MacKinnon
  • 1985-1989 Rev. David Sutherland
  • 1991-1996 Rev. James Skinner
  • 2002- 2010 Rev. Michael W. A. Henderson
  • 2010–2012 Rev. Shirley Murdock
  • 2012-Present Rev. Allan MacLellan