Built as a Presbyterian church in 1906, Centretown United Church boasts beautifully preserved Gothic Revival architecture and is the only house of worship along the downtown segment of Bank Street best known for its eclectic array of restaurants and shops. I visited the congregation on Sunday, January 11 for their 10:30 AM service, alongside around 50 members present in person with others, as I learned, livestreaming from home.
Centretown United Church’s story encapsulates how Canada’s mainline Protestant denominational landscape changed over the decades. Originally known as Stewarton Presbyterian Church, the congregation became part of the newly established United Church of Canada in 1925. In 1961, the closure and later the regrettable demolition of the architecturally stunning McLeod Street United Church, built in the imposing Romanesque Revival style, led this nearby community to join Stewarton at 507 Bank Street. In 2008, the closure of Bell Street United Church led to another amalgamation of communities, with then McLeod-Stewarton United Church changing its name to Centretown United Church. At the time, members of the congregations had the opportunity to vote on the name change. Most members of the congregation do not reside in the neighbourhood. Yet a strong commitment to Centre 507 — a drop-in program housed on church property providing meals and recreational opportunities for vulnerable people, supported by both the United Church and the City of Ottawa — was one of the reasons to retain this church in 2008.
The Sunday liturgy featured music of exceptional quality. Accompanied on both the piano and organ by Jonathan Brunet, the congregation’s Director of Music, eight choristers led us in song. “Morning Has Broken” served as the opening hymn, followed by “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace.” A member of the congregation lit the Christ Candle, as we prayed that “the light of Peace might cast back the shadows of war that darken our world.”
The song “Healing River” by Lloyd Kauffman served as the choir’s anthem for this service. Reverend Steve Clifton, serving as the community’s interim minister, followed with a philosophically-oriented reflection, touching on existential themes. He opened by reflecting on how the practice of meditation is one shared by many faith traditions. Many of us glide over the surface of life, always rushing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. In contrast, the spiritual practice of meditation calls us to slow down and to “sink into the depth of life.” When we do this, we may find the most unexpected waters and treasures, Rev. Clifton added. Quoting Eknath Easwaran, we hear: “a mind that is fast is sick, a mind that is slow is sound, and a mind that is still is divine. This is what the Bible means when it says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.'” Those last words from Psalm 46 were included on the cover of the Sunday Bulletin.
The readings for this Sunday incorporated one from Psalm 29, where we hear that the “voice of the Lord is over the waters.” Rev. Clifton emphasized that the Psalm speaks of God in the present tense — His voice is over the waters, His voice is powerful, it is majestic. “The Psalm speaks of God’s presence here and now. Philosophers and mystics remind us that the only time we have and the only time that is real is the present moment. The past is gone, it resides in memory and in story. The future is yet to be — it’s only a worry or a hope. Only the present is real and accessible. We can learn from the past and work for the future, but we can only really live in the present,” Rev. Clifton observed. God too is present in the moment in which we live. God is also present when the world experiences quite a dark week. We’ve seen military action in Venezuela, threats made against the sovereignty of democratic nations, a young mother killed by federal agents in Minneapolis and the brutal, on-going war in Ukraine. “It’s a shadow moment,” Rev. Clifton said. “But in this moment, God is present, God is with us.”
Reverend Clifton encouraged the congregation to take the time to sink into the present as the community adopts a new Community of Faith profile and explores future directions, including the hiring of a new minister. “It’s a challenge to be a church in this day and age, but it’s also true that in the present moment, you have considerable gifts to celebrate,” he said, mentioning the strength of the congregation’s music ministry and its commitment to serving the needs of the neighbourhood. “In this moment and in this place, God is here with you.”
The Prelude from the Holberg Suite, performed on piano by Jonathan Brunet, provided several minutes of quiet, peaceful reflection — an opportunity to rest in the here and now. The service closed with the hymn “I feel the Winds of God” from Voices United, with lyrics that emphasized the present moment — and God in it, even amidst the drenching spray of the most turbulent seas.
Christopher Adam
Thank you so much for this insightful and prayerful description of CUC at this moment of transition.
Thank you Christopher for your very thoughtful piece on our community of faith at Centretown. We are in a period of transition with all the uncertainty that holds. It is good to be reminded of the many blessings we enjoy at Centretown and of the new opportunities for service that our congregation may look forward to.