United Church of Canada celebrates 100th anniversary
Members of the United Church will come together Sunday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada, a unique Canadian church expression that was initiated by federal statute on June 10, 1925.
On June 8, there will be a celebration service at Trinity United in Collingwood, where Centennial United Stayner, Creemore-New Lowell Pastoral Charge, Trinity United Collingwood, Badjeros United and Grace United Thornbury will be worshipping together at 10:30 a.m.
“In the United Church we’ve been encouraging congregations to support each other by gathering in clusters,” said Rev. Jane Sullivan.
She said the day marks a significant milestone for what originally started as an experimental church. “The United Church has continued to define itself according to the Canadian context,” said Sullivan. “We sort of emerged out of a Canadian context where, particularly in smaller towns, it didn’t make sense to have three or four protestant denominations that were all theologically very, very close to each other.”
She said churches were already sharing resources to help people living in extreme poverty at the turn of the last century, resulting in ecumenical organizations forming, such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the YMCA and YWCA, with the aim of overcoming the alienation of the city and providing a Christian home for young people in the city.
“Out of all that local context comes this decision to discuss churches working together on a more permanent scale,” said Sullivan. “Being formed by a federal statute in 1925, it is pretty interesting that we have continued to try to discern what is going on in Canada right now and try to respond to it as nimbly as possible.”
On June 10, in the Mutual St. Arena in Toronto, The United Church of Canada formed by a union of Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational, and the General Council of the Local Union Churches.
Sullivan said because the United Church formed as a result of a negotiation between the founding member churches, they continue to bring distinct voices to the table while working together.
“In that way we have remained very ecumenical, very outward looking, interested in sharing the work toward the common good with whoever’s in the community,” said Sullivan.
Leading up to the centennial, The United Church of Canada undertook a visioning exercise that resulted in a mission statement of “Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, Daring Justice.”
On the Feast of Pentecost, Christians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, gathered around the Mother of the Lord (Acts of the Apostles chapter 2). The feast is celebrated on the 50th and final day of the Easter season. In 2025, Pentecost falls on Sunday, June 8.
The Collingwood service will be led by many of the leaders of participating churches, with the exception of Badjeros, Rob Roy and Temple Hill United Church Rev. Rebekah Duncan, president of the Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council, who will be attending the national service in Newfoundland. The local service will include a mass choir, followed by birthday cake and coffee.
For more information visit united-church.ca.
