1904

The Presbytery of Toronto approves sale of the Knox Church site for not less than $200,000. Simpson’s makes an offer of $206,000 which is accepted by the Trustees and approved by the congregation. Jesse Ketchum had originally deeded roughly 1-1/3 acres of land to the church. Approximately one-third of an acre is to be sold to Simpson’s.

1905

The last services in the Queen St. church are held on July 9. The old church is demolished soon after. Services are temporarily held in the “Old School House,” a large Sunday School wing which was added at the rear of the Queen St. church in the early 1870’s. This addition is left standing for the time being when the rest of the church is pulled down. It contains a large lecture room which is fitted up as a sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the Trustees purchase a new site on the west side of Spadina Ave., just south of Harbord St. at a cost of $32,152.72, paid for in cash. This site, in a suburban residential neighbourhood, is meant to bring Knox to where the people are.

1906

Knox Spadina

Rendering of the new church building by architect James Wilson Gray, also a Knox elder.

The intention was to put off building the spire until funds became available, but that never happened. The current roof on the bell tower was meant to be temporary, but of course has lasted for 113 years.

Construction begins at the Spadina Ave. property.

1907

The last services are held in the “Old School House” on the Queen St. site on Jan. 20. From then on, worship takes place in the Lecture Room at the “New School House” on the Spadina Ave. property. Today, we know this “New School House” as the Sunday School/office wing of the current Knox Church. It is the first part of the structure to be completed. The Lecture Room is the same space which we now refer to as the Goforth Hall.

On Jan. 26, the cornerstone of the new sanctuary is laid by Sir William Mortimer Clark, Lt.-Governor of Ontario. A stepson of Dr. Topp, he serves Knox as Clerk of Session and Chairman of the Building Committee.

1908

Presentation of the Knox Bell

In 1908, Sir William Mortimer Clark donates a bell to Knox Church which is hung in the tower during construction. It was cast by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York. The inscription reads:

PRESENTED

BY

SIR WM. MORTIMER CLARK, K.C.,

LIEUT. GOVERNOR OF ONTARIO,

AND

LADY HELEN GORDON CLARK,

HIS WIFE,

TO

KNOX CHURCH, TORONTO,

APRIL, 1908

1909

Completion of the Sanctuary

A service of dedication formally marks the opening of the new sanctuary on Jan. 10.

1910

View from roof of Knox Church, Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street, 1910

(City of Toronto Archives)

Closure of the Duchess Street Mission

By 1911, the land on which the Duchess Street Mission sits has become commercially valuable and the property is sold to a developer in April. The proceeds are divided amongst Knox and four other Presbyterian churches which in later years had joined in supporting the Duchess Street outreach ministry. The land in question had once been the old Duchess Street Burying Ground. In preparation for redevelopment, the property is excavated in order to remove the remains of those interred there. By this time, it is impossible to identify most of the remains. The remains of 263 people are disinterred and reburied in a single mass grave (Plot L 106) in the Toronto Necropolis during 1911–12. The owner of Plot L 106 is listed as “Moderator Knox Church Sessions.”

Origins of Evangel Hall

John Wanless, a local politician and Knox elder who is a jeweller by trade, deeds a shop he owns at 573 Queen St. W. to the Presbyterian Church to be used for outreach to recent immigrants and low-income families. Evangel Hall Mission opens on Jan. 26 under the auspices of the P.C.C.’s Board of Social Service and Evangelism. Knox provides financial and program support from the start.

Knox Church takes over direct responsibility for running Evangel Hall from the Presbytery of Toronto. The organization flourishes: by 1928 there will be a membership of 180 families, with 320 children attending afternoon Sunday school. Daily meetings for men and women, sewing classes for girls, a weekly evening Bible class for children, a youth program, and Sunday evening worship will be among the services offered.

Knox Church, 1920. Of interest is the stone block in the middle of the front sidewalk, right at the curb. This was a stepping stone for people who were descending from horse-drawn carriages.

(Toronto Star Archives)

Church Union

In a lengthy and complicated process stretching back to the turn of the century, the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist denominations move toward amalgamation. A Basis of Union is agreed upon in 1908, and the P.C.C. General Assembly, after submitting a revised Basis of Union to presbyteries in 1915, resolves in 1916 to unite with the other two denominations. Matters are deferred due to the war, but in 1921-24 the necessary legislation is put through at the federal and provincial level. Individual congregations are given the right to vote on Union, and this voting takes place in 1924-25. Approximately 70% of Presbyterian congregations vote to join the United Church. Dr. Inkster and Dr. Winchester are staunchly against Union. The Knox congregation votes against Union by 788-20. On June 9, 1925, the day before the United Church of Canada is to be inaugurated, 79 commissioners opposed to Union leave the General Assembly of the P.C.C., which has just concluded its final sederunt (sitting) at College St. Presbyterian Church. They arrange to meet at Knox Church that evening. A large group of anti-Unionists had already gathered at Knox where Dr. Inkster leads them in prayer and devotions for two hours. At 11:55 P.M. the dissident commissioners begin their meeting at Knox and constitute themselves as the General Assembly of the “continuing Presbyterian Church.”

In 1923 Knox offered a clinic providing health advice to new mothers.

(City of Toronto Archives)

Toronto Scottish Church Parade, entering Knox Church, 1925.

(City of Toronto Archives)

Knox and the Depression

During the Great Depression Knox reaches out to the neighbourhood. In 1925 a women’s organization known as “Women’s Own” is founded to provide outreach and fellowship. Weekly meetings are held, attended by people from the neighbourhood, at which there are snacks, a hymn-sing and a message, delivered by Dr. Inkster or an outside speaker. During the hard times of the 1930’s the scope is extended to provide food relief for the needy. A similar group, “Men’s Own,” is started in 1933 to give spiritual comfort during the economic collapse. Like the women’s group, the men’s organization provides fellowship, music and a message, usually by Dr. Inkster. “Men’s Own” also does neighbourhood outreach, and organizes a softball team and a hockey team which compete in church leagues. Knox Church, which had given financial aid to Presbyterian congregations finding themselves with reduced membership following Church Union in the 1920’s, similarly provides monetary relief to congregations facing economic hardship in the Depression years.

Dr. Winchester retires

In April Dr. Winchester retires after 38 years at Knox. At first he had hoped that with Church Union in 1925 the continuing Presbyterian Church would be more evangelical in character. At the 1926 General Assembly, however, he had been rebuffed in his attempts to have an evangelical candidate appointed Principal of Knox College; in fact, attempts had been made to prevent him from speaking at all. Deeply disillusioned, he distanced himself thereafter from the denominational leadership. Dr. Winchester during these years keeps up a busy preaching schedule, particularly on the summer Bible conference circuit. In 1932, for example, he delivers 85 sermons and Bible lectures – 43 in Ontario, 10 in Quebec, 10 in Manitoba and 16 in the U.S. He is also instrumental in founding the Evangelical Theological College (later known as the Dallas Theological Seminary).

In February 1944, Dr. Innes abruptly resigns as minister. He had endeavoured to make many changes in a short time, which apparently created friction with the congregation. The main reason given for his departure is that he has been offered the post of General Secretary of the American Tract Society. He is “farewelled” from Knox on February 28.

A call is extended in Dec. 1944 to Dr. C. Ferguson Ball of Philadelphia, who accepts but subsequently withdraws.

A call is extended to Rev. Robert Barr, who for 17 years has been minister of Mowbray Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa. Upon his acceptance, it is arranged that he will be installed as minister at Knox in Nov. 1945. Unfortunately, Rev. Barr falls seriously ill, and Knox session grants him a leave of absence until his health is restored.

1946

Death of Dr. Inkster

After his retirement, Dr. Inkster travels extensively. He provides pulpit supply in New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. Then he serves as Interim Moderator in Saskatoon, and undertakes a prolonged period of pulpit supply in Victoria when the regular minister is posted overseas with the military. On Dec. 19, 1946, while on the way to evening worship at Knox, he is fatally injured when he falls from a streetcar into the path of an oncoming motorist. His funeral takes place at Knox on the 21st.

1946

Knox and Urbana

Ella Forsythe, a Knox member, is the long-serving secretary of IVCF (Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship), which for a time has its Canadian head office in a house owned by the church, on the present-day site of the Fellowship Centre. In 1946 she assists Dr. J. Christy Wilson, IVCF’s first Missions Secretary, in organizing the “International Student Convention for Missionary Advance.” The conference is scheduled to run from Dec. 27, 1946 to Jan. 2, 1947. Knox gives financial support, offering the use of its sanctuary and other facilities. Events that are too large for Knox are held at Convocation Hall on the University of Toronto campus. The conference is a great success, and it is decided by IVCF to hold a similar gathering every four years. It finds a permanent home in Urbana, Illinois, and becomes known as the Urbana Student Missions Conference.

1953

Death of Rev. Barr

Unfortunately, Rev. Barr is dogged by ill health. He is forced to take a leave of absence in 1949, and in Feb. 1953, becomes seriously unwell again. He goes to Scotland to recuperate, but dies in England on Sept. 11.