Metropolitan United Church

Metropolitan United Church has a long history of worship and service that began in 1818 in what is now the commercial heart of Toronto. The first building housing the congregation was a small Methodist chapel located on nearby King Street. Membership grew, along with population, so in 1831 another site was acquired on Adelaide Street, and the Newgate Methodist Episcopal Church, a Georgian-style building was opened in 1833, to accommodate 1,000 people.

In 1868 the Methodist Church purchased the present square-block property and constructed Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church, which was dedicated in 1872. (Dr. Anson Green recalled this purchase in his autobiography, and we have provided an excerpt below.) The building seated 2,300 and was described as Canada's "cathedral of Methodism." The United Church of Canada was formed in 1925 by the union of Methodist and Congregational and two-thirds of the Presbyterian churches in Canada. Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist became Metropolitan United and was chosen as the site of the first General Council of the United Church.

In 1928 fire destroyed most of the church building. Determined to rebuild on the old foundation, the congregation commissioned a redesigned structure

The largest organ in Canada, built by Casavant Frres in Quebec, was installed in the rebuilt church and first played in 1930. The five-manual instrument has been updated and restored over the years, but the original console has been retained. In 1998 a gallery organ was added. The organ has 8,233 pipes; the largest is 32 feet high, and the smallest is the size of a pencil.

The first harmonically tuned carillon in North America of 23 bells was installed in Metropolitan's tower and first played in 1922. The tower and carillon survived the 1928 fire, and in 1960 12 bells were added. Installation of another 19 bells in 1971 brought the total to 54. The largest bell weighs 3,836 kilograms (8,456 pounds) and is 183 centimetres (72 inches) in diameter.

The congregation of Metropolitan United Church has voted to be recognized as Affirming: welcoming of all people regardless of their sexual orientation to worship and minister among us (www.affirmunited.ca).

Metropolitan United Church now serves a unique congregation drawn from throughout the City of Toronto and surrounding communities. Many people come from miles away to attend the church because it is large and historic, but decidedly modern in outlook. The extensive facilities in the main church building serve the spiritual and educational needs of worshippers, and are also used throughout the year for comprehensive community service programs. These provide assistance and activities to minister to the body, mind and spirit of people in downtown Toronto.

For more, you may read: Firm Foundations: A Chronicle of Toronto's Metropolitan United Church and Her Methodist Origins, 1795-1984, by Judith St. John, published in 1988.

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Interested in digging a little deeper? Here's an excerpt from The Life and Times of Anson Green in which Dr. Green recalls the purchase of Met's new property in 1868. Note the members of the council of management, some of the city's most influential leaders at the time.

"As I was walking by McGill Square on 8 September and reflecting upon the manner in which the negotiations between the city and the Montreal Bank, for the Square, had fallen through, a builder of the city came to me saying: Ã Doctor, you should now step in and buy this block for a church. You can sell old Adelaide for $10,000.00 and I will give you $1,000.00 towards a new church.  “Thank you," said I,  “that is worth thinking about".  Before I reached home, another gentleman David Thurston offered me $500.00 for the same object. I immediately went to Dr. Ryerson, my co-Trustee, and reported these facts,  “First rate," said he,  “let us call a committee and see what can be done."  I then went to Morley Punshon, who agreed with us, and seventeen persons met and agreed to purchase the square.

The bank was willing to sell it for $25,000.00 with a down payment of $5,000.00 and they entered a bidding war with the City of Toronto and the Roman Catholic Church. The final purchase price was $26,000.00 for McGill Square. A committee of management was appointed on 15 October 1868 with Mr. Punshon as Chairman and W.T. Mason as Secretary. It was made up of Dr. Egerton Ryerson, Dr. Anson Green, Dr. Lachlin Taylor, William Stephenson, Dr. Enoch Wood, and prominent laymen, including A.W. Lauder, John MacDonald and Dr. W.T. Aitkins. "