Visiting The Archives
The United Church of Canada Pacific Mountain Regional Council Archives known as ‘The Archives’ is open by appointment only. Please contact the archivist to arrange a research visit.
We continue to observe COVID safety protocols:
- Research by appointment only
- Do not visit if you are unwell
- Wear a mask while at the Archives (preferably KN95)
Regional Archivist:
Blair Galston
Email: bgalston@united-church.ca
Telephone:
Call toll free in BC 1-800-934-0434
or +1-604-431-0434. Ext. 6358
Street/Mailing Address:
312 Main Street, Suite 320
Vancouver BC, V6A 2T2
Search the Holdings
To search the Archives' holdings, visit the United Church Archives online catalogue for descriptions of all our collections. Our descriptions include file lists that give detailed contents. Please note: Unlike larger organizations, we are not able to provide digital copies of documents on our site.
The Central United Church Archives in Toronto give researchers easy access to information on other United Church archives across Canada.
The Archives holds records of the:
- founding denominations of The United Church of Canada within B.C., up to 1925
- Indigenous Church
- Pacific Mountain Regional Council (formerly BC Conference) of The United Church of Canada.
The Holdings include records created by local communities of faith such as registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials; historic membership rolls and communion rolls; minutes of church boards, committees, and organizations (including women’s groups); printed annual reports of local congregations; congregational newsletters; local church histories; correspondence; and photographs.
The Holdings date from 1859 to present (1895-2010 predominant), and approximately 500 communities of faith, including closed congregations, have deposited original records in The Archives!
Recent News from The Archives
International Women’s Day at the Archives
Ah May Chung, later known as Dr. Victoria Chung (or Cheung) was the first Asian Canadian to earn a medical degree in Canada. She also …
Reflections on the National Gathering on Missing Children and Unmarked Graves
From January 16 – 18, 2023, the third National Gathering on Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites took place in Vancouver. Delegates called …
Reflections on the National Gathering on Missing Children and Unmarked Graves Read More »
Smudging ceremony to begin the Archives’ multi-phase digitization project
November 8th was a very special day at the Regional Archives. Musqueam Elder Shane Pointe led a smudging ceremony to help our Archives begin a …
Smudging ceremony to begin the Archives’ multi-phase digitization project Read More »
Asian Heritage Month – Celebrating Firsts
The Fong family is well-known in the early history of Chinese-Canadian communities in B.C. Rev. Fong Dickman arrived in Vancouver from Nanaimo, to minister to …
Celebrating International Women’s Day
To mark International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2022, The Archives is honouring those women who had the fortitude and courage to pave the way for …
Sometimes Christmas
Enjoy this seasonal concert from Linnea Good, 1994, found on our Archives YouTube channel! Blair Galston PMRC Archivist
Asian Heritage Month ~ the late Rev. Dr. Vasant Saklikar
In honour of Asian Heritage Month, Regional Archives Committee member Renée Sarojini Saklikar sends us this excerpt about her father, the late Rev. Dr. Vasant …
Asian Heritage Month ~ the late Rev. Dr. Vasant Saklikar Read More »
Asian Heritage Month ~ Cherry Blossom Bazaar
For our second installment, the Regional Archives brings us to the annual Cherry Blossom Bazaar — a decades-old tradition of the Vancouver Japanese United Church. Lots …
Asian Heritage Month ~ Photographer Yucho Chow
As May begins, the Regional Archives will be helping us celebrate and promote Asian Heritage Month by featuring a vignette from our history. For this first …
Vancouver Japanese United Church Archives Website is Live
“Because of the federal government’s policy of dispersal following the war, so many British Colombians of Japanese descent were scattered throughout the rest of Canada. One of the aims of the Vancouver Japanese United Church Archive website is to reach out to Canadians whose roots trace back to the Vancouver congregation; we want to encourage viewers to learn about their past, help identify people in the images and share stories.”
Dr. Don Watt
Dr. William Donald Watt served as a medical doctor within The United Church of Canada. He and his spouse, June (a nurse), began their adventure …
More stories of Times and Tides
The book had to have a beginning, middle and an end, but this meant several stories had to be left untold.