Grace UB Church (Sherkston)

The Wesleyan Methodists were granted permission during or just prior to 1863 to build a church on part of land owned by Christian Sherk on the lot, North and East of the corner of Wilhelm Road and Highway #3. By 1877, a United Brethren group had arranged to own a share of this church.

The United Brethren shared the church building with the Wesleyan Methodists from 1870 through 1881 when the Methodists decided to move to a new church. The United Brethren group bought out the Wesleyan portion of the chapel on the Highway and everything went smoothly for several years until some major theological concerns arose within the United Brethren Denomination in 1889. These issues led to the division of the church into two groups – the Liberals (who gained the property rights to the church) and the Radicals (who were a more conservative group). Both groups continued to worship in the Sherkston chapel (at different times) until 1896. There were differences in opinion between the two groups regarding sobriety, church attendance and participation in secret societies (such as the Masons).

In 1896, the Liberals, who owned the building, decided that they had had enough of the Radicals using their church. So one burly Liberal member stood in the doorway with a wood plank across the opening and prevented the Radicals from entering the church for their meeting. The Radicals met in a temporary church building until they could build their own church on a lot at the corner of Empire Road and Sherkston Road. Their church - Grace United Brethren Church -  was completed in the Spring of 1897.

On the night of December 7–8, 2020 (shortly after 3 a.m.), a fire destroyed the 123-year-old building. It started in the basement and rapidly spread.  The building was a total loss: the front half (sanctuary, lobby, basement) collapsed to the foundation walls; the back half was heavily burned and required demolition to the slab.

The rebuilding process took somewhat longer than expected. During the wait, the church met at the Sherkston Community Centre, and then at Charlie Koabel's farm on Wilhelm Rd. 

Construction was completed in the spring of 2026, and a Dedication service was held on May 3, 2026.