All are welcome! . Your presence will be a blessing to us and we pray you will receive many blessings in return. Read on for more on our proud history coming into 110 years! http://www.unionunitedchurchmtl.ca/component/content/article/8-about-us/5-read-more
and via Miranda Moses book
Moses, M, Proud Past, Bright Future (Montreal: Union United Church of Montreal, 2008). Church History
In July 1
907, a group of African Canadian railway porters and their wives met to establish a Christian church where they could freely worship in their own style after having been forced entry into other churches in Montreal. In September 1 of that year, Union Congregational Church was founded on $2 and held its first service with 26 attendees. The first pastor of the congregation was Rev. F.E. Bowser. Unlike most black congregations in Canada, the church was founded by Black Canadians from the United States as well as the West Indies. In the early years of the church, it was assisted by the Colored Women's Club, the oldest Black Women's club in Canada which was founded in 1902 by black Québécois women. The years after World War I, the congregation grew due to an increase in Railway Porters relocating to Montreal from the United States and the West Indies. In 1925, the church joined the United Church of Canada as part of the amalgamation of many Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Methodist churches across the country to form the denomination. The church's membership has increased over the years, due to recent immigration from the United States, as well as Francophone African and Caribbean countries. Although the congregation has always been predominantly black, it has members from 50 different nations. Over the years, Union United Church has also welcomed high-profile visitors into its sanctuary. Among those are Stokely Carmichael, Rosemary Brown, Sydney Poitier, Dr. Carrie Best, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Bernadette Allen, Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela
Notable Church Members
Oscar Peterson (1925-2007), Jazz musician
Oliver Jones (1934-), Jazz musician
Percy Rodrigues (1918-2007), actor
Mairuth Sarsfield (1925-2013), bestselling novelist
Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré (1942-), First Black Honourable Judge appointed in Quebec
Brenda Paris, politician
References
Moses, M, Proud Past, Bright Future (Montreal: Union United Church of Montreal, 2008).
