Caption to the photo, to the left, in the scan of Oct. 29, 2003 news article reads "Rev. Paul Lam of the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Victoria has history at his fingertips in the form of photos from the early days of his church.  Instituted in 1892, the house of worship is Canada's oldest continuously operated Chinese church.

In the office of Victoria's Chinese Presbyterian Church, Rev. Paul Lam carefully places a large flimsily wrapped cardboard box on the table.

As he peels back layers of weathered-looking paper, faces appear from underneath.  They are the faces of children, church elders and other parishioners, captured in sepia tone photos dating from the early 20th century.

Lam, the 22nd minister installed at the church since it was set up as a mission for Victoria's Chinese community by the white Presbyterians in 1892, proudly states that his church is the longest continuously operating Chinese church in Canada.

"I feel very proud of the heritage of our church," he says. "The chruch has done good work over the years, helping with problems in the community and educating children, not just in religiion but in Chinese culture."

The church has had four different locations since its beginning, but has been housed in the current modest building at 802 North Park St. since 1922. .....

Sample material for suggested inclusion welcome.  email N. Chan c/o publisher@provenance.ca

Pictures of the previous Elders, Ministers, Interim Moderators, Deaconess's, Minister's Manse (where the parking lot now is situated), Chinese and English Language classes, early Young People's Society activities would be welcome.