Reflections on the heritage, life & work of faith communities in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
Two French-speaking Catholic parishes made the front page of this past Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen, as City officials move ahead with plans to designate Saint-François-d’Assise Parish in Hintonburg and Saint-Joseph Parish in Orleans heritage buildings. The municipal government’s committee charged with safeguarding Ottawa’s built heritage accepted a recommendation from city staff to apply designation to the…
When one visits a church and hears that the congregation’s clergywoman is sometimes known as “the little Pope from Brockville,” the risk of tuning out the sermon is greatly diminished. I had the chance to visit Wall Street United Church in Brockville on a couple of occasions this summer and in each instance, I found…
On my way to the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Fall Harvest Fair on a crisp morning, I stopped by St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Maxville, Ontario, and attended their 9:00 am Sunday service. Built in 1860 as a Presbyterian church and later to serve as the spiritual home of a Baptist community, the…
Earlier this month on a hazy Sunday, while visiting an elderly and ailing friend Stateside, smoke from Canadian forest fires drifted across the St. Lawrence. It clung to the humid air over New York’s North Country. After a 45-minute drive down the 416 and having crossed the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, I turned right and drove…
When I was a kid, my dad would haul me out of bed early on a Sunday morning, order me into my ‘Sunday best’ including tights without holes and shoes that pinched my feet because I only wore them occasionally, and pack all of us into the VW van to go to church. We were…
The Ottawa Pastoral Care Training Program, an ecumenical initiative offering laity formation in pastoral care since 1979, has opened up registration for its Fall 2025 Basic Course. The course is geared to those who volunteer with church-based pastoral care teams. Participants can register for either the in-person course, hosted at St. Paul Presbyterian Church (971…
Sixty years ago, new churches were springing up like wildflowers in the sprawling suburbs of metropolitan Ottawa. On April 4, 1964, an Ottawa Citizen article by J.A. Hume on this church boom gives a sense of the energy that surrounded bustling and growing faith communities in the sixties, especially in the case of the United…
A stranger walked into the town Crowds were attracted to him from all around He is but an ordinary man people would exclaim Yet such a message had never before been proclaimed Little children drew to him steadily In his arms he embraced them readily And as only a child is apt to do Would…
The lowly sparrow — the poor in spirit The cuddly rabbit — the gentle The bellowing seagulls — those who hunger and thirst The cooling droves — the peacemakers The graceful swans and scented lily pads — the pure of heart The rocks hammered and beaten by the waves — those persecuted for justice The…
Reverend Lynne Gardiner ministers at Bethel United Church in Perth, where the current church has stood since 1895. Rev. Gardiner began her ministry in Perth in 2019, having completed her Master of Divinity from Queen’s University in 2015, followed by ordination in 2017. In the piece below, Rev. Gardiner reflects on the unique gifts and…