First United Church is a

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

congregation in Ottawa, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. One of Ottawa's oldest congregations, the church formed in 1846.

History

In the middle of the 19th century, that church was the site of the first mixed race marriage in Canada. It was originally Congregationalist, but joined the United Church when it was formed in 1925. The first permanent home was built in 1862 at Elgin and Albert Street. The current building in Centretown was constructed in 1911. In February 1925, it merged with the former Westminster Presbyterian Church (a post-1900 split from Erskine Presbyterian Church), that had voted for Union to become The First United Church of Ottawa, four months before the official Union.

Social activism

The church began to struggle in the 1970s and 1980s, but in 1987 Rev. Sharon Moon began a seventeen-year tenure at the church, and made it a centre of social activism, especially

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

, fighting poverty, and supporting people with addictions. As well, its welcome for the diversity of life has drawn many people to the church.

New church in Westboro

In 2007, the congregation sold their historic structure and moved to

Westboro Westboro may refer to: Places Canada *Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood ** Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station United States * Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood *Westboro, Missouri * Westbor ...

, joining with an

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

congregation, All Saints Westboro (shared building, separate services). The current Minister, the Reverend Brian Cornelius, continues the tradition of First United as one that welcomes diversity. First United has been an 'Affirming Congregation
Affirm United
of the United Church of Canada for several years.

References

{{Commons United Church of Canada churches in Ottawa Gothic Revival architecture in Ottawa Anglican church buildings in Ottawa Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada