Chinese Quarters, Cormorant Street, 1890s
(Spire of Chinese Methodist Mission in background)
Courtesy of B.C. Archives: D-04747

Presbyterian Problems

Winchester, while a man of the cloth, seemed quite unprepared for life as a Presbyterian missionary in a fledgling Victoria.  Shortly after his arrival in the city in April 1892, he made a journey to San Francisco to study the methods the missionaries employed there.  Upon his return in June, he was ordained in his new office.

Winchester’s report at the beginning of December suggests some frustrations he was having in his new position:

1.     He did not know Cantonese, but Mandarin, which suggests that the Cantonese language was more prevalent amongst the Chinese who settled in Victoria.

2.     There was no suitable place for his mission work.  An earmarked property on Fisgard Street above Government had been sold to another party and his suggestion of one on Herald seems to have been either ignored or dismissed.

3.     He was still suffering from “culture shock” from the transition from smalltown Ontario to the raggle-taggle boomtown of Victoria, trying to deal with a flock he had difficulty reaching.

The problem of a lack of a suitable space for the mission continued to dog Winchester, and he repeated his request for something permanent in his 1894 report.  At one point, he had to resort to using the Chinese Theatre for a congregation space, which proved awkward, given the fact that the actors did not vacate the space while services were in session, seeing as the theatre was also their home!

Winchester did get the opportunity to visit Canton to study Cantonese and the workings of a mission there.  While there, he met up with a native Chinese graduate of the Presbyterian Theological School in Canton, Ng Mon Hing.  He became a catechist for the Victoria Presbyterian Chinese Mission in February of 1895, assisting Winchester and C.A. Coleman, who had been preaching in Cantonese on Winchester’s behalf for some time.

The Chinese Presbyterian mission was granted church status in January of 1899.  This church is still active in Victoria today, although due to space pressures in downtown and changing demographics, its location is no longer Chinatown.

Sources:

Chinese Presbyterian Church.

Lai, Chuen-Yan David, Chinatown the Forbidden City, Orca, Victoria 1991.

 

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