Donald Teuma-Castelletti
BRISTOL Sept. 8-9, 2018
With 100 years under their belt, the community of Bristol Ridge Pentecostal Church took the time to revel, reflecting on the past while looking forward to the future.
Spreading the celebrations across two days, the church was joined by it’s community and guests from both sides of the river, as they shared a meal, sang songs and learned about the humble beginnings at the location of 53 Eighth Line.
The party ran across two days, starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday with a free communal turkey dinner followed by live music, and continuing right through till late Sunday afternoon, with a service starting at 2 p.m. Organized by Brian Beattie, the weekend consisted of much reflection on their past, from beginnings as a tent in a field to owning a building and much more, with plenty of eating and song as the days wore on.

Beattie has spent much of his time at this church over his life, having started attending with his parents as a child. Now living in Kanata, he returns to the area weekly to help out a cousin and can be found assisting with odd jobs for the church and its community on the regular.
“I come up here as often as I can,” said Beattie. “I still have family to look after in the area.”
So how did he end up organizing the 100-year celebrations? While, as he admits, it’s an aging population that makes up the community and he’s still very attached to it, despite his “family” church now being a location in Stittsville.
“People here, they can’t do it, they’re up in their 70’s, 80’s,” he said. “Also, I was involved with the 80th and 90th bashes.”
When asked if he would step up to the plate, he gladly accepted, organizing the weekend with the help of many hands in the church. (Just don’t expect him to be leading the 110th celebrations, he added, laughing.)
Also, he dove headfirst into researching the church, its leaders, members and roots, taking on a passion project as he sought to produce four videos showcasing this rich history. Over 10 months he scoured past The Equity articles and other resources to develop these videos, focusing on the actual building, it’s past minister, events like baptisms, and finally, the people of Bristol Ridge.
As he researched further and found more connections, he extended many invitations to past church members, leading to some interesting results. In many cases, past ministers passed on words of thanks and praise for the church, which were read at the Sunday afternoon service.
However, one invitation led to a daughter of a minister learning more about her own father. While extending an invitation, one woman replied that Beattie had been wrong, that her father had never been a minister at the church. Persistent, Beattie replied via email that he had, sending along a photo of the woman as a toddler, sitting on her father’s lap for a family portrait.
Shocked at this revelation, the invitation to the event was accepted and the woman used the opportunity to learn more about her father from this, joining the celebrations Sunday afternoon.
Another special visitor to this celebration was Margaret Purdie, who first came to Bristol Ridge in 1975.
“I remember driving up the road asking [my husband] David, ‘Is there actually a church here?’” she said, with a laugh.
Serving with her husband from ’75 till his passing in 1980, Purdie continued to minister at the church another two years. She shared stories of joy and sorrow, and many more of her son growing up in the community, encouraging his passions of hockey and music for years to come.
While there were many more guests to the meal and the service, with well over 100 attending each day, the group was there to celebrate not just the individuals, but the community of their church. Beattie’s videos provided that neat bow on top of the party, providing the history starting in 1918 right through till the present day. Faces have changed in the church, and the building itself has seen many facelifts – not to mention a significant reduction when the top half was removed in 1989 – but as the party proved, there is still a community to join with.
“We’re so thankful for the community, and the community is thankful for us,” said Beattie. “It’s a two-way street.”