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Our United Church of Canda is turning 100 in June of 2025. The national Church is planning a year of celebrations and special events to commemorate this milestone. I have noticed that many of us who come to church are not aware of the history, positions, and structures of our United Church. For the next little while, I will be using the last Friday Message of each month to tell you about the Church and what it is that makes us unique – not only in Canada but around the world.
I hope that you will enjoy learning about this United Church of ours.
Kathi
Formation
As the 20th century began, Canada’s population was booming as waves of immigrants arrived seeking better lives in this new nation. The “social gospel” was a powerful movement for Protestants of the time, calling for the churches to play a role in building a “just society.”
The Presbyterian Church in Canada – with roots in Scotland, the Canadian Methodist Church – connected to Great Britain, and the Congregational Union of Canada – rising from the American Puritans, all had a desire to do more effective mission work globally and to be a unifying religious force nationally.
Many of the newcomers to Canada were settling in the mid-western provinces and small prairie towns grew dramatically. Individual denominations struggled to keep up with the demand for new worship spaces, so “Union churches,” combining the worship styles of all three denominations were established as a trial run for amalgamation.
The success of this experiment was compelling and in 1923 the Methodists, the Congregationalists, the local Union churches, and 70 percent of the Presbyterians voted to join together into one United Church.
In 1925 the Basis of Union was finalized, describing the new denomination’s structure and beliefs. The Parliament of Canada made the new denomination official through the United Church of Canada Act, the only church to be recognized in this way by the government.
On June 10, 1925, the United Church was inaugurated in a mass worship service at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto, making it one of the few religious denominations to be born in a hockey arena. How much more Canadian can you get? The recorded membership was 300,000 families from all across the country.
In 1968 The Evangelical United Brethren Church amalgamated with the United Church.
From the 1940’s to the 1970’s there were negotiations between the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada about a possible union, but in the end the two denominations decided not to amalgamate. Union talks also took place in the 1970’s between the United Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) but ended in 1985.
In 2015, representatives of The United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ (USA) signed a historic Full Communion Agreement. And in 2019 the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and The United Church of Canada entered into a Full Communion Agreement. Full Communion recognizes a mutual understanding of Christian faith and a shared recognition of baptism and communion.
The United Church of Canada is organized nationally through the General Council Office and regionally through Regional Council.
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