| Metropolitan United Church | |
Met United
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| 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.
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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.
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
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."
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.
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.