Sunday services at 10:30 am
Spiritual seekers, neighbours, wise elders, gracious hosts, doubters, activists, artists, contemplatives, beginners.
These are just some of the words used to describe the people who connect with MacKay.
We create weekly spiritual events, usually on Sundays, to weave together contemporary realities with the experiences and traditions of Christian thought. We seek spiritual wisdom in collaborative ways. We hold space for vital conversations. We foster imagination through music and poetry, visual art and liturgy. We discover and support spiritual practices, from prayer to meditation to physical activity. We invite neighbours to share our historic building for the events that are important in their lives. We find ways of serving critical needs in our city.
MacKay is committed to providing a barrier-free environment for our community
Our building is fully accessible, including a wheelchair entrance, accessible washrooms and elevator access to our administrative offices on the second floor.
Our team
Rev. Peter Woods
Minister
Peter thrives at the crossroads of spiritual and artistic engagements. As the Minister of MacKay Church, Peter brings a lifetime of theological reflection rooted in liberation movements and contemporary academic thought. His unique sax/jazz-based approach to his spiritual practices and contemplative work is one of his main gifts as he engages with the broader community.
Janice Rideout
Office Administrator
Janice has been the enthusiastic and caring Office Administrator with MacKay for over 10 years. She manages the tasks of bookkeeping, Sunday service preparation and general day-to-day office and property maintenance. Janice is MacKay’s main point of contact when it comes to liaising with the community on facility rentals and special events.
“Fostering a profound sense of the Sacred in daily life helps make a better and richer world. God is present in the truths and realities of contemporary life, and we seek to honour that divine presence here and now.”
— Peter Woods, Minister
Our vision
Seeking spiritual understanding,
in a welcoming community,
together in Christ,
open to the Spirit,
acting in service,
through God's love for all.
Our mission
In Christ's name, we will live our vision by providing opportunities to explore the Christian faith.
By building and creating awareness of a welcoming community.
By studying and speaking of Jesus and reflecting the Christ of faith and hope in our lives.
By being ever open to the Spirit and sharing our Spiritual lives and our joy or sorrow.
By responsibly using our skills to sustain our church, to care for and comfort others, and to seek justice.
By being good stewards of God's creation.
Land Acknowledgement
The United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings and Ministries from coast to coast are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples. Specifically, the land on which MacKay gathers is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin-Anishinabeg-Nation.
Our history
MacKay United of New Edinburgh has a long, fascinating history closely intertwined with the development of the nation’s capital.
The MacKay name comes from one of Ottawa’s prominent citizens of the early 1800’s, Thomas McKay, a staunch Presbyterian Scotsman and stone mason. He came to Ottawa in 1826 to help Colonel John By construct the first eight locks of the Rideau Canal and when the locks were complete, bought a thousand acres of land straddling the Rideau River near its junction with the Ottawa River. Thomas McKay made many contributions to his adopted community. He built St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Ottawa in 1828 and in 1830 established the village of New Edinburgh on his property on the east side of the Rideau River.
Initially, New Edinburgh residents travelled to St. Andrew’s in the centre of Ottawa for worship and the earliest record of Church activities in New Edinburgh is Thomas McKay teaching Sunday School in a hall at the corner of Alexander and Charles Streets in 1845.
About the United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a church with a rich, progressive, and continuing history of welcoming all in the name of Christ.
The United Church of Canada came together in 1925, through a union of Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and other Christian churches – one of the first ecumenical unions in the world to bring together major Christian denominations into one body.
The United Church faith communities welcome people from all backgrounds and orientations — wherever you are in your faith journey.