Heritage Community Church Celebration
VIDEO REPORT: A very special celebration was held on Sunday August 20th at Heritage Community Church on 7th Street in Collingwood. The Church and the land it sits on was officially designated as an Historic Site of Historical and Cultural Significance at a special plaque presentation and open house. The Heritage Community Church was established 153 years ago on what is now 7th Street in Collingwood’s historically Black working-class district, the home of outstanding Collingwood families.
Black Heritage Acknowledgement, Sylvia Wilson, HCC Trustee Chair
Rev. Shawn Ankenmann, Pastor, Heritage Community Church
Guest Speaker: Elise Harding-Davis, Canadian heritage Consultant, former Curator of the Amherstburg Museum
Gospel Singer Gael Miller-Jackson, Canadian Heritage Consultant, former Curator of the Amherstburg Museum, Elsie Harding-Davis
Educational material and historic photographs were on display in the Heritage Community Church
A plaque beside the main entrance provides a history lesson dating back to the early 1800’s.
“Black Settlers being Empire Loyalists, freed slaves, or escaped slaves began to arrive in Collingwood in the first half of the 1800’s. The community they established included a Church at the 7th Street site which in 1872 became affiliated with the British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada.”
On this historic site today sits the current Church, built in 1976, now known as Heritage Community Church of Collingwood. The current structure is the third Church at this location representing 125 years of Black History.
A welcome message greets visitors to the Church and on the website: ““Where a handshake means a lot”
“Founded by early Black settlers, with the co-operation and support of local White citizens, a small chapel was built in the early 1800’s for the purpose of worship, encouragement and community acceptance. Over the years, three churches have been built on this original site, the present one, in 1976 and renamed to honour our various cultures & heritage, and the outreach ministry & involvement of the community around us.”
CLICK HERE to visit the web site of the Heritage Community Church in Collingwood