The Church and Congregation
Our congregation is the oldest Presbyterian congregation in Canada, dating to the founding of Lunenburg in 1753. Among the settlers (known as 'foreign' Protestants, from German states, Switzerland and Montbéliard) were 60 families of the 'Dutch' Reformed (Deutsch = German) or Calvinist Church.
One of their number, a Swiss blacksmith, Michael Ley, conducted services as lay preacher. Worship was held outdoors or in the homes of members. In 1759, permission was granted to worship in St. John's church (Church of England, built in 1754). They were permitted to baptize, marry and bury from St. John's, but not to deliver sermons.
Dutch Reformed members raised money for a sanctuary of their own which was built in 1769. The first building, a small structure with a short tower and its gable end facing the street, was built on the lot where the present church stands and was purchased from John Adam Fleck for $15. The first minister was Bruin Romkes Comingo.
In 1828, the first church was replaced by a new building designed by Mr. Dechman of Halifax and built by Daniel S. Grant, a Highlander and a naval veteran of the War of 1812. It was built at a cost of $6000. It featured a high central pulpit, narrow side and end galleries, and its roof was supported by ten wooden columns. The choir and organ were located in the rear gallery. The congregation was segregated with women in the ground-level pews and men in the galleries.
The Dutch Reformed church was affiliated with the Church of Scotland in 1837 and named St. Andrew's after one of Christ's first fishermen. The fish was the symbol of early Christians. The weathervane atop St. Andrew's reflects the Christian symbol and the importance of the cod to the town's economy.
Enlarged in 1879 at a cost of $4000, the church took on its present Neogothic Style. The church underwent its final enlargement and refurbishing in 1909 when the chancel was added.