Norwood Assembly, Edmonton, AB

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[edit] History

J.J. Rouse ministered in Edmonton in the years 1903 to 1905. His biography mentions that an assembly of about 30 people commenced in that city in 1905. This may be the earliest assembly in Alberta. In the early 1900s, four assemblies came into being in Edmonton – Boyle Street Assembly, Edmonton, AB , Norwood Assembly, Edmonton, AB , 97th Street Hall, Edmonton, AB , and the YMCA Assembly, Edmonton, AB . The latter met at the YMCA under the leadership of Mr. Tom Cooper.

The Norwood Assembly, Edmonton, AB was begun around 1926 by William Cummings along with several others including J. Thompson, S. McCaughey, and A. Tandy. It was a store-front operation in an old building and about 40 in fellowship. The Norwood, Boyle Street, YMCA, and 97th Street assemblies had little interaction with one another. However, in October 1933, a young man from Vancouver – Albert McLaren – began to hold Gospel services nightly in the 97th Street Hall; there were many conversions and William Cummings heard about it. He took his four sons to those meetings and they were all converted at that time. William Cummings had vowed to the Lord that wherever his boys were saved, there he would fellowship. When he broke this news to the Christians at Norwood, they said ‘if you go, we all go,’ with the result that in a matter of a few months all of the Edmonton assemblies merged at the 97th Street Hall, with approximately 125 in fellowship at the time. Some of the surnames of the brethren from these early days were Gregory, Herbert, Magee, Majas, Maskell, Rutley, Smalley, Stephenson, Sydney, Twittey, and Willoughby.