The Rev. John Wesley (1703-1791), a revivalist in the Church of England, founded the    Methodist movement as a Christian renewal ministry in the 18^th Century declaring, “The Whole World is My Parish.”  Methodists played a prominent role in the history of Upper Canada with a large number of them being United Empire Loyalists settled in the Belleville area.  St. Matthew’s United Church is a “blended family” of two great historic Methodist Churches here in Belleville.  Our story begins with Tabernacle United Church (pictured on the left) that was built in 1875 and was located on the East side of Church Street at the base of the Belleville water tower. Holloway Street United Church (pictured on the right) was built in 1876 and served it's West Hill neighbourhood.  The two congregations felt God’s call to join together in 1995  in order to more effectively serve Jesus Christ in the community.  Therefore, St. Matthew's United Church is a new Church, the product of the amalgamation of Holloway St. and Tabernacle United Churches plus the Bay of Quinte Ministry with the Deaf. St. Matthew's was officially established in the summer of 1995 during the period that the Rev. Barry Goodwin was serving as Interim Minister at Holloway St. United Church. Following amalgamation the Tabernacle structure was demolished. A memorial was erected on the site.

The Rev. Barry Goodwin was the first minister of the amalgamated congregation. He was followed by the Rev. Dr. W. Wayne Soble who was St. Matthew’s minister until June 2004 when he accepted a call to Edith Rankin United Church in Kingston. The Rev. Mark Fleming was appointed to serve as Interim Supply Minister until June 30, 2005. The Rev. Ross Lockhart accepted a call to St. Matthew’s on September 1, 2005 and was our minister until June 30, 2008. The Rev. Gary Magarrell was appointed Interim Supply Minister until August 15, 2010. The Rev. Cathy Russell accepted a call to St. Matthew's effective August 16, 2010.

Even better than reading about “our story” on the website is to join us and become part of the story.  Come serve Jesus Christ with us in word and action!