St. Paul's United Church History

Trinity Methodist Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church were both established in Estevan about the same time-1892. During 1902 and 03, two church buildings were erected, on opposite sides of 3rd Street and 12th Ave.

When fire damaged the interior of Trinity Methodist Church in 1920, the Presbyterian congregation extended an invitation to the Methodists to worship in Westminster Church while repairs were being made to their church building. When, soon after the Methodists had returned to a remodeled Trinity Church, fire partially destroyed Westminster Church in February 1921, negotiations were entered into which, by the unanimous decision of both congregations, culminated in the formation of a local Union congregation on July 1st, 1921 to be known as "The United Church of Estevan". Later the congregation voted to become a part of the United Church of Canada upon the consummation of church union in 1925.

The congregation continued to worship in the former Trinity Church but the facilities of both church buildings were needed for the various activities of the congregation. During 1931, the congregation decided to take a new name of St. Paul's United Church.  In 1949, a decision was reached to dispose of the old Westminster stone church and extend the former Trinity church so that the life and work of the congregation might be brought under one roof and the sanctuary extended to meet the needs of a growing congregation.

The congregation continued to grow. Sunday School facilities in the church basement weren't adequate. On November 3rd, 1963, a new Christian Education Centre became a reality. February 1970, the One Board was set up. This was the Union of the Official Board, Board of Trustees, the Elders and the Board of Stewards. The Mortgage of C.E. Centre was burned in October, 1974.

Old United Church at 12th Avenue and 3rd Street

It was eventually decided that a new, more accessible church building could better serve the congregation next to the Christian Education Centre. It first opened its doors in 1982. With its high, open architecture, excellent acoustics, and grand piano, it has since become an established venue for musical productions for the city of Estevan.

In 2005, St. Paul’s amalgamated with the International Pastoral Charge to form the St. Paul’s International Pastoral Charge.  Today the pastoral points include Estevan, North Portal, and Portal, North Dakota.  Our pastoral charge is one of the very few to serve two different churches, United and First Presbyterian. Since this amalgamation, our congregation has made many positive changes and are still working on many more in order to live out our vision of “Get God, Get Grace, Get Going!”