In the fall of 1881, S.C. Grab preached
the first sermon of the Rye Evangelical United Brethren Church
at Miss Annie Blasser’s house on the Old Nipissing Road in Rye,
Ontario. It was not until 1884 that the first spiritual class
was formed and the church was officially recognized.
The first recognized pastor was C.
Bolender. His descendants were at the first worship service of
Almaguin Evangelical Missionary Church, which is the continuing
ministry of Rye Evangelical United Brethren (E.U.B.).
In 1894, the first church was built in
Rye on land donated by the McLaren family. It was a log
structure that in later years was covered in siding. They had a
wood stove for heat. In 1895 the church cemetery was started.
In 1968 the E.U.B. in the United States
merged with the United Methodist Church. In eastern Canada it
merged with the United Church. In the west the merger was voted
down, and the E.U.B went on its own taking the name Evangelical
Church. They started talks with the Missionary Church of Canada
on a merger. The Missionary Church of Canada and the
Evangelical Church officially merged in 1993, although they
unofficially worked together for quite a few years before this.
Rye E.U.B. voted not to join the United Church. They ended up
suspending operations but not closing the church. In the early
1980s, the Rye congregation convinced Rev. George Peck to come
back and pastor the church. He was a pastor of the Rye E.U.B.
before the merger and had transferred his credentials to the
Missionary Church. In 1982 he held the first service of what
would become known as the Almaguin Evangelical Missionary
Church. The first resolution passed by the church was that the
name of the church was to be Almaguin Evangelical Missionary
Church and to be known as the continuing ministry of Rye E.U.B.
All members of Rye E.U.B. became members of Almaguin Evangelical
Missionary Church.
On May 5 1989, the current church
building in South River was dedicated to the ‘Glory of God’. It
is here that the body of Christ known as Almaguin Evangelical
Missionary Church meets for worship and fellowship.