Dominion Chalmers United Church is a large

United church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

, located in downtown

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, at the corner of Cooper and O'Connor Streets (with access from Lisgar Street). It is a 1962 merger of two key congregations from both the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

traditions, each possessing lengthy histories.

History

Chalmers Presbyterian/United Church, was originally Bank Street Canada Presbyterian Church, located on nearby Bank Street at Slater Street from 1866 to 1914. Alexander Cowper Hutchinson (architect) designed the Bank Street Presbyterian Church at Bank Street at Slater Street in 1868. The Bank Street Presbyterian Church building was reconstructed by the architect William Hodgson in 1881 after a fire. Alexander Cowper Hutchinson designed the Bank Street Presbyterian Sunday School in 1890. The Bank Street Presbyterian Church was renamed after

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

, a leader of the 1843 disruption in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

that led to the formation of the

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...

, and in

, their "parent" congregation of Knox Presbyterian, is now located just two blocks east on Lisgar at Elgin Street. Alexander Cowper Hutchinson designed the Chalmers Presbyterian Church on O'Connor Street at Cooper Street, 1912–1914. The Metcalfe Street building was built in 1830 as Metcalfe Street Methodist. In 1852 this group merged with those from

Rideau Street Rideau Street (french: Rue Rideau) is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier ...

, and the building was enlarged and renamed The Dominion in 1876. The Dominion Methodist Church, which was located on Metcalfe Street at Queen Street, was designed by the architect Henry Hodge Horsey and built between 1875–1876. The Dominion Methodist plaque lists Alexis Helmer, whose death was the inspiration for

John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the ...

's poem, "

In Flanders Fields "In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and f ...

". The building was destroyed in a fire in February 1961. The Dominion Methodist/United Church's roots go back to Methodist circuit riders visitations in Hull, Lower Canada from 1816, and a wooden structure built on

in the

Lower Town Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, ...

in 1827. The Dominion-Chalmers (or DC Church) buildings have recently undergone major renovations to their large sanctuary (damaged by a fire in 1955), and is used for concerts; and for other special events, sometimes of a national nature.

The Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre

In 2018,

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

purchased the church building as a performance space, though the congregation will continue to use the building for religious services as well. After its repossession, it was officially renamed the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, although it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the amalgamated Carleton Dominion-Chalmers ''United'' Centre, with Mara Brown being announced as this extension's first director on April 1, effective April 15. Prior to this appointment, on March 26, 2019, the university held a festival of life celebration for Professor

Pius Adesanmi Pius Adebola Adesanmi (27 February 1972 – 10 March 2019) was a Nigerian-born Canadian professor, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. He was the author of '' Naija No Dey Carry Last'', a 2015 collection of satirical essays. Adesan ...

, Director of Carleton's Institute of African Studies; one of 18 Canadian persons to have died in a tragic plane crash on March 10.

References

External links

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History
{{Coord, 45.416784, -75.69506, region:CA_type:landmark, display=title United Church of Canada churches in Ottawa