HISTORY
Westminster United Church History
Westminster United Church was created in 1948 from the merger of First Avenue United Church and St. Andrew's United Church. The decision was made to use St. Andrew's building, but only after it was extensively renovated. The name Westminster was chosen for the new congregation by a vote of the members.
The Westminster church building was opened in 1879. It was built by local contractors and labourers who completed construction in less than a year.
To learn more about the history of this beautiful building click below:
Current
It is Westminster congregation’s goal to increase the use of their building’s facilities to serve even more of the community. Considerable work has been done through the congregation’s own fundraising efforts to make the building more accessible. These include a new elevator, new accessible washrooms, a paved parking lot, safer main entrances, and a fully accessible and refurbished sanctuary with flexible seating.
The building currently serves the needs of many diverse and non-denominational outside user groups. It is Westminster’s goal to increase the use of these facilities to serve even more of the community with our commercial kitchen, renewed auditorium space, and additional meeting room spaces.
The United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada was “born” on June 10, 1925, with the legal details of the merger of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches in Canada sorted out by an Act of Parliament. The union meant Orangeville had two United Churches – First Avenue and St. Andrew’s until 1948. The two congregations merged that year and chose as their new name “Westminster”.