St Andrew’s/Moffat United

More than a summer ago, in world so much different from today, the Team was out exploring in the Wolseley Saskatchewan area. There it’s wide open spaces, charming little towns, much history and a pace more relaxed. It’s big skies above, limitless fields of grain and then there’s us, a little meandering group out looking for adventure and finding it at every turn. We’re as much people of the plains as we are of the mountains and here it felt like home.

Heading down some road, it’s a little church…a little stone church, and that means we have to stop and check it out. Then comes that lost in the moment look, one of bliss that tells you we’re enjoying getting to know our subject. We THOUROUGHLY love what we do even if sometimes our words are not always so eloquent these days. Hard to be original after all this time.

We’re in a place called Moffat, for a brief time early on Moffatville, not so much a town but a loose cluster of houses along with a school and a couple churches. Now all that’s left is Moffat United, a building a hundred and thirty years old. Still used for services it’s clearly well loved, the congregation showing dedication and enthusiasm with the grounds and building nicely kept up. There’s a pronounced sag to the structure but it doesn’t seem to be a big problem and in the end just adds to the charm and character.

Settlers started coming to the region in the mid-1880s, many from Scotland, and soon after a church built. This was St Andrew’s Presbyterian*, first a wood framed structure, replaced in 1891 by the building we see present day. That earlier church was said to be a click or two east and when no longer needed was then moved to Wolseley to become a home. It’s still there today and we walked right past one afternoon not aware of the connection at the time. We always find this out afterwards.

*Presbyterianism is the dominate religion in Scotland and St Andrew a spiritual figure often associated with the country.

By the standards this church is a real oldie and we can count on one hand (maybe two) the number like it that we’ve come across in our travels out west dating from the 19th century. And we’ve seen our share. Elsewhere in the world one this age wouldn’t even register, but out on the Canadian Prairies, stuff from that era is pretty uncommon, doubly so out in rural districts. It was a real treat to explore.

Building St Andrew’s Church (or St Andrew’s Kirk in the old country vernacular) was no small task and an army of men were needed just to collect all the stones. It was only natural that this material be used. Many settlers were skilled in the craft and since there was no shortage of rocks out this way, why not? Just breaking your field would offer up a ready supply. Lime, a mortar to hold it all together, was made locally.

Given all this, there’s a fair number of stone houses in the general area, some of which we explored this fine weekend and which we’ll post about soon. We’re planning to return to the area too and hope to take in others we missed this first pass. One can never get enough.

A local history book has this to say about St Andrew’s: “It was an unpretentious church, in simple Presbyterian style, durable and functional….The windows along each side had the curved line of the Romanesque arch rather than the more elegant Gothic. It bore no steeple and no cross.” From – They cast a long shadow: the story of Moffat Saskatchewan.

The Scottish Stonemasons were experts but perhaps didn’t take into consideration the deep freeze/thaw cycles found out this way, so these types of buildings shifting and the walls cracking as a result of frost weathering was commonplace. As you can see the church is a bit bent (that’s engineering-speak) and obvious are the various repairs and patches done to it over the years as it settled unevenly.

Close to a hundred years ago many Presbyterian Churches in Canada became affiliated with the United Church. Now we know why there was a name change.

The building is laid out simply, west facing, a long rectangular structure and very understated in design. That book goes on to elaborate: “(the church) merely achieved a lack of ugliness, so that it had a very pleasing neutrality.” One way to put it I guess – it’s AWESOMLEY REGULAR! Frosted glass lights the interior in soft tones. We suspect it keeps good and cool inside come a hot summer day, what with all those big thick walls, but must have been a challenge to keep cozy in the depths of winter.

The long wooden structure seen was a stable and is said to date from 1910. Long before cars were common place people would come to church by carriage or on horseback and it’s here they could rest their animals and keep them protected from inclement weather. There is also a hall on the grounds, which for some reason we did not capture a photo of. Oh, and we also missed the cemetery a bit up the road. Sometimes I wonder where our heads are at. Maybe we’ll have to come back.

The United Church in Canada was formed mid-1920s via a union of several similar-minded Denominations, the main one being the Presbyterians (most congregations with a few exceptions) plus Methodists along with some other smaller church groups. They’re present day the largest Protestant Denomination and the second largest Christian Denomination after the Catholic Church, in the country.

We’d like to thank our local host Stephen Scriver for showing us around. We spent a hectic weekend in the area, getting to know and love this corner of Saskatchewan and with his help got to see some incredible stuff. Bravo! These articles were shot summer 2019 but delayed for a whole myriad of complicated reasons, but now we’re able to start sharing them again, here and elsewhere. There’s so much cool stuff to see – can you stone houses? Lots of them? I knew you could! And there’s much more including a visit to an old fashioned Drive-In Theatre. So many fantastic photos! Don’t even remember the movie, but the experience was was unforgettable and we captured it all. Don’t change that dial.

They’re saying…

”Off the Beaten Path web page is a great discovery resource I’ve referred to over the years….” Chinook Canine.

Totally Random Saskatchewan…
Wolseley SK Then & Now: Town Hall.
Wandering Shaunavon.
Coleville Saskatchewan Pool “A”.
Bay Island One Room School.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: August, 2019.
Location(s): Rural SK.
Article references and thanks: Book – They cast a long shadow, the story of Moffat Saskatchewan, Town of Wolseley, Stephen Scriver.
If you visit Moffat United Church, please be respectful.

We’re told this was a stable.

Made of field stones, it’s Moffat United.

It’s a little bent.

Still, it’s a fine old structure.

The building is a hundred & thirty years old.

Originally it was called St Andrew’s Presbyterian.

In the soft light.

It’s the little details.