Our Story

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Our congregation was nurtured into being through the efforts of Methodist ministers dating as far back as the late 1800’s.

The original Methodist church on this site was built in 1875 and served the community
of Goodwood until 1925.  During that time 20 ministers preached Methodism from the pulpit,
each staying, on average, 2 and a half years. A Rev. John Oke remained for 5 years (1896-1901).
 

​Fire destroyed the original building prior to the Christmas concert in 1906.  A few precious items
were saved, including the bell, pulpit and organ.  In 1907 the church was rebuilt using cement block
and in July 1908 the church re-opened its doors for worship services. Goodwood church celebrated
its 100th anniversary with a gala event in July 2007. Past and present members were invited.
There was an opening of a time capsule to commemorate the occasion.
 

In June of 1925 the United Church of Canada was created combining congregations from Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches and this church became Goodwood United Church.
​In 1966 a new two-point pastoral charge began with Goodwood and Epsom-Utica.
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A special dedication service was held on June 7, 1976 to re-install the church bell inside its newly-erected bell-tower on the entry roof. The bell had been sitting under the front steps of the church for a good number of years.
 

1925 to 1940 Goodwood Church was served by 5 United Church ministers and from then until 1971, served by 15 Student Ministers, with the exception of Rev V Thormin, who was here from 1968 to 1970. From 1971 to 1977 we were served by Team Ministry consisting of an ordained minister plus a student.
 

For the past 40 years, there have been 6 ordained ministers in our pulpit, 3 men and, for the very first time, women ministers ... 3 of them. In the early 90's both Rev John Burton and his wife, Heather,
shared the pulpit until she was ordained. In 2001 Rev Elaine Lush ​became our minister and remained until the present, 2017.​
 

​Though it has a small congregation, Goodwood United continues to thrive because of the generous support from its members and the surrounding community. We are especially pleased to be able to help many worthwhile organizations as well as those associated with the United Church of Canada.