First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton

Book excerpt: This book is the story of the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton and the people who made it such a fascinating religious community. The colourful characters, the saints and sinners, the good and the worthy, the weak and the domineering, and portrayed in a very caring fashion. The dignity and worth of the human spirit along with the foibles of human nature are laid bare in this portrayal of a congregation's struggle to assert a dominant role within the Presbyterian, and Edmonton, communities. With the arrival of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in what latter became the province of Alberta and the formation of the congregation in 1881, the influence and prestige of members of the congregation ensured Presbyterians played a vibrant role over the religious and public affairs of the national Church and throughout northern Alberta until the disruption of 1925. The haemorrhage of members of First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton, to the new United Church of Canada left a weakened congregation with a diminished presence in the Presbyterian Church and provincial society. This book examines how this struggling congregation has attempted to rise to prominence again and move out of the shadow of humanism and play a credible Christian role within our twenty-first century secular environment.