Fonds F005 - Francis Chisholm fonds

Francis Chisholm was born in 1926, in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. During his adolescent and teenage years, Chisholm attended the nearby Dollar Academy, an independent day and boarding school located in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. At 17, Chisholm joined the British Army for three years, where he became a sergeant with the Seaforth Highlanders, and participated in the tail end of the Second World War. After returning from the Second World War, and after his time serving with the British Army, Chisholm decided to follow in his fathers’ footsteps to become a minister. To aid in this effort Chisholm enrolled at Edinburgh University in 1948, where he received a Master of Arts degree, and then enrolled at New College, Edinburgh, where he received his Bachelor of Divinity Degree specializing in the New Testament in 1951. In the same year, Chisholm married his partner, Connie.

In 1952, Chisholm was ordained into the Church of Scotland. Chisholm’s first pastoral job was ministering to two small churches with a combined total of three hundred parishioners- the hamlet of Enzie, and the fishing village of Portgordon, located in North-East Scotland.

From 1952 to early 1955, Chisholm had two daughters with his wife Connie. In 1955, Chisholm and his family moved to Canada where he was ordained into the United Church of Canada. For the next 3 years Chisholm served in the Pastoral Charge of Willbrook-Cavan, Peterborough Presbytery. In July of 1958, Chisholm accepted a position at St. Andrews United Church in the city of St. Catherine’s and was ordained as minister of the church. In 1964, Chisholm moved to Hamilton, where he worked full time as the chaplain at the Mountain Sanatorium (Chedoke Hospital) and served as the associate pastor at Stewart Memorial Church, and volunteer associate Minister at Linden Park United Church. During the year of 1990, Chisholm wrote his first book, titled “Prayers and Services for Use Within the Royal Canadian Legion”. In 1991 Chisholm retired from working at Chedoke Hospital. In 2002 Chisholm’s wife passed away from Kidney failure.

Chisholm has spent his post retirement days acting as the Grand Chaplin of Canada for the Knights Templar of Canada, and as a chaplain supporting the Mountain Legion and conducting Remembrance Day services. Chisholm also ministers to and supports the Dutch Legion, the Hamilton Artillery Association, and the Steel City Chapter of the North Wall Riders Association, and still preaches at Stewart Memorial Church and Linden Park United Churches. Chisholm has ministered worldwide, from Vimy Ridge to Rome to Jerusalem, and has also met with the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Chisholm is currently in the process of writing a commentary on the book of Psalms, called "One a Day Psalms: A Cantina of Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes".