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Welcome

The Advent edition of the Uniter is now available. Pick one up at the church
or check your email. Click here to subscribe.

Christmas Carol sing-along before morning worship December 8 at 9:45am
Click here for more information.

Dress for Less Clothing Shop coming December 7
Click here for more information.

We are hiring a custodian (21 hours per week)
Click here for more information. No phone calls please.

Our church
Woodroffe United Church offers you a west-end Ottawa church home within the fellowship of the United Church of Canada. We are a welcoming and caring community which includes an active outreach program, a dedicated pastoral care team and a broad variety of opportunities for worship and spiritual growth.

In 2024-25, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada.
United Church of Canada Centennial

Worship with us

Sunday Services

Join us for worship each Sunday morning at 10:00, followed by a time of fellowship.
We are streaming services again. You may watch live or later on our YouTube channel.

Junior Church

Junior Church is held on the second Sunday of each month from September to June. On other Sundays, all children are invited to participate fully in our services. We have a dedicated Kids' Zone with craft and other activities available througout the service.
UCW memorial stained glass window

Upcoming 

Part of our library
Christian Education
We aim to provide an effective Christian Education Program so that the congregation can grow in Christian faith, knowledge, love and understanding and to provide a more effective Christian witness.

Adult Education

We have self-led reflection groups that meet during Advent and Lent, and other activites.

Library

Our library, conveniently located just outside the sanctuary, has over 800 books for all ages. The library committee actively maintains the library.

Pastoral Care

Woodroffe's Pastoral Care Team is committed to providing love, concern and prayerful support to those in need. An emphasis is placed on confidentiality. Each member of the team has received training in pastoral care and ongoing programs offer opportunities for further development in the ministry of care and love. The team also responds to the church's mission to minister in our local community and area hospitals.
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The Pastoral Care Team members are caring friends in times of need, including bereavement, job stress or loss, illness, difficult family decisions or difficulties, substance abuse, emotional instability, abusive relationships, grief, distress, phobias, burnout, separation or divorce, peer pressures or simply a need for confidential conversation. Members with a pastoral care concern are encouraged to contact one of the ministers.

The following passage from the Book of Micah (6:8) neatly summarizes what God expects of us as faithful followers.

…what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?

Jesus echoed this when he said: love God and your neighbour. Sounds simple doesn’t it? And yet, we often struggle with it—especially the part about loving our neighbour. What does it mean to “love kindness?” Who is our “neighbour?”

I like to think that it means, at least in part, to care for and about others, to want the best for them and to reach out to them when they are hurting. In both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the image of the “good shepherd” is often used to express this. It is from that “pastoral” image that we get the term “pastoral care.” Often, the term is capitalized—Pastoral Care—and thus acquires a formal connotation that implies special calling or training. And, indeed, some kinds of pastoral care do benefit from professional training—but by no means all.

At Woodroffe, pastoral care occurs on a daily basis and in a variety of ways. At one end of the continuum is what happens every Sunday (though not only then) when members of the congregation reach out to each other in caring and supportive ways, be it a cheerful “good morning” as we arrive or a quiet chat in the pew before or after the service. The weekly bulletin reminds us of this when it notes that “we are all called to ministry.” At the other end, is the care provided usually by the ministerial staff to those in situations of acute need—typically surrounding a death or serious illness. In between are those circumstances which call for an ongoing commitment—long or short-term—by a member of the congregation to take on responsibility for caring for another. One example is members who are largely confined to their homes and are unable to attend church regularly. A group of regular visitors ensures that these members of our family remain connected in a very personal way. In other cases, from time to time, members find themselves in a particularly difficult or crisis situation that may call for someone with special skills or training to assist or augment the support provided by the Ministers. This is where the Pastoral Care Team comes in.

Woodroffe’s team is currently composed of eight lay members (Lynne Crocker, Wes Dearham, Margaret Dempsey, Deb Lester, Cathy Seaborn, Gregg Smith, and Lorna Waymann), all of whom have completed a ten-week training program to develop their listening skills and their ability to respond pastorally and confidentially when a crisis arises. These skills are maintained and enhanced through continuing education programs provided by the Pastoral Care Training Program and community agencies. The team meets monthly from September to June for mutual support, sharing and learning and, each fall, covenants with the congregation to care for one another.

If you have or are aware of a pastoral care need or would like more information about the work of the Pastoral Care Team, please contact Rev. Kathryn Peate, Rev. Alan Edwards, Cathy Seaborn or any member of the team. All such communication is kept strictly confidential.
A special dinner event at the church
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Mission and Service

United Church people across the country join together to share what we can with people and places in need through a unified fund called Mission and Service.

We share resources with three goals in mind:
- to help transform lives
- to inspire meaning and purpose
- to build a better world
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Mission and Service helps people by doing the following and much more:
- helping give access to clean water,
- providing food, and medical care
- supporting skills training and economic development
- helping with peace-making and sustainable agriculture efforts
- providing disaster relief and advocating for the rights of those who all too often don’t get a say, like children and migrant workers
- supporting opportunities for people to grow spiritually in all kinds of ways.

The United Church offers many ways to give. However you choose to give and whatever amount you are able to give, your generosity will help transform lives!
Thank you.
More information about Mission and Service can be found at United Church Mission and Service

Music

Whether it comes from professional musicians or two 6-year old vocalists, music enriches our worship of God. The Ministry of Music is led by our Music Minister, with the participation of the Senior Choir and numerous other individuals. A rebuilt three manual Keates pipe organ was installed in 1982. Chimes were added to the original 37 stops in 1991. A 4-octave set of hand bells and numerous other instruments enrich our music. We sing from Voices United and More Voices, the music resources for the United Church of Canada.

In 2012, the chancel was renovated extensively to enhance the acoustics and provide a more flexible concert space.

The choir

The choir has existed since the church was founded. Some former members stayed in the choir for as long as 40 years, and even now we have members who have been in the choir for over 25 years. To hear our choir, check out any online service or listen to us sing Realm of Endless Joy here. This anthem was commissioned in memory of Peter Curd, who sang bass in the choir for many years.
Our choir in 2016
Realm of Endless Joy
Music by Christine Donkin, Words by Wesley Dearham
recorded by the Woodroffe United Church choir in 2012

Donations

If you wish to provide your givings, or make a one-time donation, you may send a cheque to the church, use our secure PayPal connection here or send an e-transfer to 9ce8eef9fdefe9eef9eedcebf3f3f8eef3fafaf9e9f2f5e8f9f8b2f3eefb.

Donate now via PayPal