Metropolitan United Church

Metropolitan United Church
Met United
Denomination	United Church of Canada
Churchmanship	Liberal Evangelical Protestant
Website	www.metunited.org
Clergy
Minister(s)	Rev. Dr. Malcolm Sinclair

Metropolitan United Church is a large neo-Gothic church in downtown Toronto, Canada. It is one of the largest and most prominent churches of the United Church of Canada. It is located on Queen Street East at the corner of Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.

History

The church in 1896

The congregation, originally Methodist, was founded in 1818. It was originally housed in a small chapel on King Street. In 1833 a larger structure was completed on Adelaide Street and it moved to its present location in 1872 when the building was dedicated as the Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Design of the Metropolitan Methodist church building

Designed by Henry Langley, who was to draw "the ubiquitous cloak of decorous gothicism over the face of Ontario in the 1870s"^[1] 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."^[2]

It played an important role in the city that was occasionally nicknamed the "Methodist Rome".^[3]

Its immediate neighbours are St James's Cathedral (Anglican) and St Michael's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and the trio of similarly designed churches are a striking Christian witness immediately adjacent to Canada's financial hub. The church's website describes the building in customary evangelical Protestant terms, regarding the nave rather than the altar ("communion table") area as its "sanctuary."

Metropolitan Methodist becomes Metropolian United

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. In 1928 the church was almost destroyed by fire, but it was quickly rebuilt keeping the same design with the help of the Methodist Massey family, of Massey-Ferguson fame. In 1930 Casavant Frères 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.

A very important part of the church is the Carillon. A carillon is a set of 23 or more bells which are played from a 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. In 1960, Charles W. Drury and his wife donated twelve smaller bells, and by 1971, the collection was complete and brought to a total of fifty four 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 by being able to withstand the immense weight of the bells, over forty four thousand pounds, by having seven foot thick walls at the base which tapered as they went up, and by having air flow through the tower to created space from where the music could be expelled. The church also had Canada’s largest pipe organ 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, however 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 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.

Organists and choir directors

• (Alfred) Melville Cook 1967-1986
• Patricia Wright 1986-Present

Today

Today the church is known for its progressiveness. It has long played an important role in Toronto's Gay and Lesbian community that is centred just to the north on Church and Wellesley. The church also offers a wide array of services for the poor and homeless.

Notes

1. ^ Marion MacRae and Anthony Adamson, Hallowed Walls: Church Architecture of Upper Canada (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1975), p.90.
2. ^ Marion MacRae and Anthony Adamson, Hallowed Walls: Church Architecture of Upper Canada (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1975), p.175-76.
3. ^ "The way we were in Toronto in 1892" Trish Worron. Toronto Star. Nov 1, 2002. pg. A.29

See also

• List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto
• List of United Church of Canada churches in Toronto

External links

• Official site
• Metropolitan United Church's Sermon Website
• Mystery Worshipper Report at the Ship of Fools website

Coordinates: 43°39′14″N 79°22′36″W / 43.653974°N 79.376666°W / 43.653974; -79.376666