Metropolitan United Church | |
---|---|
Location | 56 Queen Street East Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Denomination | United Church of Canada |
Previous denomination | Methodist Church in Canada |
Website | www.metunited.ca |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Henry Langley |
Style | Neo-Gothic |
Completed | 1872 (rebuilt in 1929) |
Clergy | |
Minister(s) | The Rev. Jason Meyers [1] |
Laity | |
Organist/Director of music | Dr. Jonathan Oldengarm [2] |
Metropolitan United Church is a historic Neo-Gothic style church in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest and most prominent churches of the United Church of Canada. It is located at 56 Queen Street East, between Bond and Church streets, in Toronto's Garden District.
The congregation, originally singularly Methodist, was founded in 1818. [3] It was initially housed in a small chapel on King Street West (now the site of Commerce Court North). In 1833, a larger structure was completed on Adelaide Street. It moved to its present location in 1872 when the building was dedicated as the Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church.
On 24 August 1870, Reverend Egerton Ryerson, who had been the pastor of the earlier Methodist church on Adelaide Street, laid the cornerstone for Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church in Toronto. He was later a member and a trustee of the Metropolitan congregation for many years and his funeral was held there at the church as well.
In 1925, the Methodist Church of Canada merged with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada. Metropolitan then acquired its current name. The first General Council of the United Church was held there in 1925. The church was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1928, but it was rebuilt in 1929 (keeping the same design) with the help of the Methodist Massey family, of Massey Ferguson fame. In 1930, Casavant Frères [4] installed the largest pipe organ in Canada in the newly refurbished building. The church is also known for its 54-bell carillon that is regularly heard throughout the neighbourhood.
Today, the church is known for its progressiveness. It has long played an important role in Toronto's Gay and Lesbian community that is centered just to the north at Church and Wellesley. The church also offers a wide array of services for the poor and homeless.
Designed by Henry Langley, who was to draw "the ubiquitous cloak of decorous gothicism over the face of Ontario in the 1870s", [5] the church became known as
the "cathedral of Methodism...a monument to ... energy, magnetism and culture....No church in Toronto has such great advantages of position....The handsome grounds of this church form one of the finest spaces in this city....The entire building is of white brick, with abundant cut stone dressing. It is a modernized form of the French thirteenth century Gothic, with nave, transepts and choir. [6]
The church's ecclesiastical neighbours are St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica and the Cathedral Church of St. James, and the trio of similarly designed churches are a striking Christian witness adjacent to Canada's financial hub. The church's website describes the building in customary evangelical Protestant terms, regarding the nave rather than the chancel area as its "sanctuary".
A very important part of the church is the carillon. A traditional carillon is a set of 23 or more bells which are played from a mechanical keyboard. The collection of bells at the Metropolitan United Church has been growing since April 2, 1922, when Chester D. Massey dedicated 23 bells in memory of his wife. These original 23 bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston in Croydon, England, are inscribed with the message "May the spirit of the Lord reach the heart of every one where the sound of these bells is heard." In 1960, Charles W. Drury and his wife donated twelve smaller bells, and by 1971, the collection was brought to a total of 54 bells.
When the church was first built in 1872, it was designed to accommodate a future carillon. The tower was designed to support the addition of bells and their immense weight (over forty four thousand pounds), by having seven-foot thick walls at the base which taper as they go up. At the top of the tower is a bell chamber open to the outside through which the carillon music can be heard. [7]
The church also had Canada’s largest pipe organ (Casavant Frères Opus 1367) installed in 1930 following the fire which destroyed the previous organ. This instrument plays an important part in leading the church choir and ceremony every week. When it was first installed, there was a weekly recital which was widely known in the neighbourhood, and which received a great deal of recognition in the local papers. These two instruments, the organ and carillon, are an important part of the church’s image and are enjoyed wherever they are heard and especially by the patients of the St. Michael's Hospital.
Current Staff
Wayne C. Vance Organ Scholar
The Cathedral Church of St. James is an Anglican cathedral in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the location of the oldest congregation in the city, with the parish being established in 1797. The church, the fourth on the site, began construction in 1850 and opened for services on June 19, 1853. It was one of the largest buildings in the city at that time. It was designed by Frederick William Cumberland and is an example of Gothic Revival architecture.
Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The church is associated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was conceived by philanthropist businessman and Baptist John D. Rockefeller Jr. in conjunction with Baptist minister Harry Emerson Fosdick as a large, interdenominational church in Morningside Heights, which is surrounded by academic institutions.
The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada located on 385 Sussex Drive in the Lower Town neighbourhood. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.
The Church of Saint Andrew and St Paul is a Presbyterian church in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 3415 Redpath Street, on the corner of Sherbrooke Street. It is in close proximity to the Golden Square Mile, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Concordia University as well as the Guy-Concordia Metro station.
Grace Cathedral is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California. On top of Nob Hill, Grace is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of California, led by Bishop Marc Andrus since 2006, while the cathedral's local parish has been led by Dean Malcolm Clemens Young since 2015.
Christ Church Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The church is located at 414 Sparks Street in the northwest section of the city's downtown at the western end of Sparks Street on top of a promontory looking down to the Ottawa River.
Saint James United Church is a heritage church in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a Protestant church affiliated with the United Church of Canada. It is located at 463 Saint Catherine Street West between Saint Alexandre and City Councillors Streets, in the borough of Ville-Marie within Downtown Montreal. It was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, commonly known as Holy Rosary Cathedral, is a late 19th-century French Gothic revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. It is located in the downtown area of the city at the intersection of Richards and Dunsmuir streets.
The Cathedral Church of All Saints, also known as All Saints Cathedral, is a cathedral church of the Anglican Church of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The cathedral was consecrated on December 19, 1933. It is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton, and the cathedral of the Diocese of Hamilton. The cathedral contains the cathedra of the bishop, the Most Rev. Douglas Crosby. The cathedral was raised to the status of a minor basilica in February 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI.
St. Peter Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located at 230 West 10th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania.
St. Paul's, Bloor Street, is an Anglican church located at 227 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario. The present church building, completed in 1913, was designed by E. J. Lennox in the Gothic Revival style. At 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft), it is the largest church in the Diocese of Toronto. The building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It is the regimental church of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in the historic Old Montreal district of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is situated next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square.
St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, is located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Knox-Metropolitan United Church stands on Lorne Street at Victoria Avenue across from Victoria Park in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the current manifestation of Presbyterian and Methodist congregations that date back to "worship services in both traditions…in 1882."
St Andrew's Church is a heritage-listed Seventh Day Adventist Church church at the corner of Maryborough and Woongarra Streets, Bundaberg Central, Bundaberg, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Lange Leopold Powell and built from 1931 to c. 1940. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 August 2004.
St. Francis Xavier Church is a Catholic church within the City of Winooski, Vermont in the United States. Built in 1870 within what was then known as a village within the township of Colchester, the parish church became one of the most visible landmarks in Chittenden County due to its unique double-spired design and proportional size comparative to its surrounding structures. The Church was listed on the Vermont State Historic Register on November 22, 1993.
St Stephen's Uniting Church is a congregation of the Uniting Church located at 197 Macquarie Street, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Sydney Presbytery and the NSW-ACT Synod.
Westminster Presbyterian Church is a congregation and building in Dayton, Ohio. The 1926 building was designed by Ralph Adams Cram and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. The congregation was established in 1799 and was the first church formed in Dayton. Today the congregation boasts over 1000 members and holds regular services each Sunday along with many additional musical and religious events throughout the year.
St. George's Memorial Church is an Anglican church in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.