Toronto Catacombs

Today is Thursday November 21, 2024 in Canada. This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Find an Association, Bible passage, glossary term, media resource, person or search. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Photo from Toronto Catacombs worship service circa 1974. Toronto Catacombs In 1968, students Gord Morris and Don Rossiter desired to begin a Christian club on the campus of their Toronto high school Birchmount Park Collegiate. After approaching their music teacher Merv Watson who was also a Christian, they formed the Catacomb Club. Merv's wife Merla Watson also became involved. They moved from the school to Merv and Merla's home, and then to the St. Paul's Church turned theatre at Bathurst near Bloor in Toronto, Ontario Canada. By 1971 they had grown into a group of 850 and began meeting in St. Paul's Anglican Church where they held a Thursday night 'Praise and Worship Celebration' that at its peak attracted 2,500 enthusiastic teenagers. Participants included Byron Hurn, Lynn Muller, Dianne Rainville and Ruth McAlister. During the late 60’s and early 70’s, Merv and Merla Watson led the Toronto Catacombs, drawing from 2-3000 young folk per week, among whom was Benny Hinn who came to the Lord. It was developed out of Merv’s high school class. It met in St. Paul’s Cathedral and resulted in hundreds of young folk committing their lives to the Lord, well over 2000 baptized in the makeshift basement tank, and many going into fulltime Christian service in many parts of the world. Following this, they directed "Shekinah,” an international group of Christian musicians, singers, and dancers in presentations in Canada, Holland, the United States, Switzerland, England, and Israel. The core group eventually spawned a church that lasted into the late 1980s. Another related group formed called Christian Church on a Hill ran from 1975 to 1984. References Remembering the Jesus Movement: People and Faces. 2017 Nov 1. <http://one-way.org/jesusmovement/>. The Jesus People Movement <https://archive.org/search.php?query=http%3A%2F%2Fjesuspeoplemovement.com%2Fresearch-3.html http://jesuspeoplemovement.com/research-3.html> Toronto Catacombs Alumni Facebook Group. 2017 Nov 1. <https://www.facebook.com/groups/18090012968/>. Merv and Merla Watson. 2017 Nov 1. <https://www.mervandmerla.com/>. This article is a stub. You can help us improve the quality and accuracy of this article by sending us your ideas. If you would like to modify this page or have this page removed, please contact us. To link to this page from your web site, social networking site or e-mail message, use the byline "From David Spencer's Faith Foundation <http://faith.davidspencer.ca>." Thank you!