At Wilmot United Church the Methodist heritage of vital worship and social service is alive and well.

In 1791 Duncan Blair, a Scottish soldier stationed in Fredericton, started a Methodist Society with 12 people. Their first meeting house was constructed on King Street, near Westmorland, adjacent to where the Hertz building now stands. It was quickly outgrown, and a second church was constructed on the current site.

At the time of the union of the Methodist, Congregationalist and most Presbyterian churches in 1925, the building was named in memory of Lemuel Allan Wilmot, the leading layman of the congregation during the Victorian era.

Lemuel Wilmot was a lawyer elected to the New Brunswick Legislature in 1834 as a leader in the fight to dislodge the Family Compact and as a chief architect of responsible government. He became Attorney General, a Justice of the Supreme Court, and finally the first native-born Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.

In the church Wilmot was a class leader, a trustee, the superintendent of the Sunday School, a choir leader, and a member of a national committee which developed the first Canadian Methodist hymn book.

• In 1991, Wilmot United Church celebrated its 200th anniversary. A quilt commemorating the occasion was made of squares 1) crafted by member families; 2) commemorating historical events; and 3) given by public figures. It hangs in the parlour.

• Today a dynamic congregation of 450 households gives contemporary vitality to a great history of worship and service in Fredericton's downtown core.

• The church opens its doors to many people who need assistance and works closely with the Emergency Shelter and the Community Kitchen to provide help and support.

• The congregation sponsors a legal advice clinic and is active in refugee settlement and advocacy.

• There are 140 children and youth who participate in the church program and a lively group of seniors who enjoy activities twice a month.

"The Story of
Wilmot
United Church
1791 - 2002
Fredericton,
New Brunswick"
by
Anita J. Jones
was published
by the church
in 2002.

It is the latest
in a series of
historic sketches
of the church's
life, work and
witness.

Click on photo
for a larger image.

During the
summer of 2006
extensive repairs
were made to the
Bell Tower.