Ayah Victoria McKhail –
Aubrey Gill has a lot of faith, but he also has a lot of fight in him. Currently, he’s trying to save the Riverside Evangelical Missionary Church, which is located at 456 King St. East in Corktown.
“We want our church back and I’m going to fight with every fiber of my being to see that we get it back.”
A dedicated member of the church for more than 25 years, Gill is the designated spokesperson for the beleaguered congregation, which is battling the Calgary-based Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC).
“It all started in the fall of 2022 when Pastor Khemraj Harrinarine was dismissed after 27 years of ministry at Riverside. This happened in violation of our church’s constitution, which states the removal of the pastor must be voted on by the church’s members, with at least 70 percent of members voting to release the pastor. The EMCC never brought this to us. And although he was only entitled to one year of pay, they paid him for two years, thus depleting our church’s funds and leaving us in a state of disarray.”
Following Harrinarine’s departure, Tim Bryson, a pastor at St. Clair Evangelical Missionary Church, led Sunday services for a year. Since then, he’s returned to his original church.
“We feel abandoned and betrayed by the EMCC,” Gill says. Feeling fearful and intimidated by the national church, Gill says congregants are leaving.
“Under Pastor Khemraj, approximately 20 to 30 members would attend. Under Pastor Tim, this number plunged to 10 to 15 people. These days, it’s at an all-time low; only 8 to 10 people have been showing up.”
According to Gill, the EMCC has “shown no interest in our survival and how we’re doing.” After Bryson left, the EMCC’s steering committee made no attempt to find a new pastor, nor to appoint a theology student, Gill says. Instead, it selected two members of the congregation to facilitate Sunday services, despite their lack of leadership experience. Gill himself has stepped up to the pulpit to preach on occasion.
“And very little tithe or offerings are collected.”
Gill says parts of the church building are in a state of disrepair. “Parts of the façade have been chipping off, so remnants are littered on the ground. Often, I receive complaints from neighbours about this.”
Last year, Gill had an accident at the church. “When I was attempting to change a lightbulb, I fell off a ladder from a height of nearly six feet. At the time, I was in the church alone. I lay on the ground unconscious and immobilized.”
After 20 minutes, he was able to call his wife and went to an emergency room. “It turned out I had broken my back in two places. The EMCC didn’t bother to file an insurance claim, nor did they offer me any help. I was simply wished a ‘speedy recovery.”
A behemoth in Corktown, the Riverside Evangelical Missionary Church was originally known as the King Street East Methodist Church, built between 1902 and 1903. Chester Massey, son of Hart Massey, who founded Massey Hall, laid the cornerstone. Legend has it that items placed underneath the stone include coins, newspapers and a copy of The Christian Guardian, a Wesleyan Methodist journal founded in Upper Canada in 1829 by editor Egerton Ryerson. In 1925 the Methodist Church of Canada merged with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada.
In 2020, the building received heritage status from the City of Toronto. Currently, another church rents space in it; it also hosts Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and Red Door Family Shelter activities.
Gill and other church members fear the EMCC will close and dissolve Riverside Evangelical Missionary Church and move its assets to the Calgary headquarters. In January 2025, the majority of members voted against this. Gill maintains the church isn’t the EMCC’s to sell and would like the EMCC to return control to selected local board members.
While the Riverside Evangelical Missionary Church falls under the umbrella of the EMCC, Gill asserts it belongs to its members. Claiming several violations of the church’s constitution by the EMCC, Gill says he’s preparing to take legal action. “We need our church back and we’re prepared to go the distance and amplify the EMCC’s unchristian behaviour.”
“I’d also like to point out that because the members of our church are predominantly Black, I feel we’re being discriminated against; there are so many abuses of power and privilege taking place here.”
“My greatest wish is that we can get our church back. I’d like to chart a new course for our future, free from the EMCC’s involvement.”
As of press time, the EMCC had not responded to a request for comment.
