First Baptist Church Ottawa, Ontario

A Brief History of First Baptist Church Ottawa

First Baptist Church (FBC), on the corner of Elgin Street and Laurier Avenue, is the oldest Baptist congregation in Ottawa, Ontario. We are a welcoming and inclusive congregation in the heart of the city. 

We invite you to join us for a Sunday Service at 10:30 a.m. and the Fellowship Time afterward. Come and experience our community of belonging. 

The Beginning

The Ottawa Baptist Association (OBA), which included churches in the Ottawa Valley and as far away as Montreal, was organized in 1836. However, it wasn’t until 1855, a year after Bytown became Ottawa, that four Baptists “and one other” began meeting in a private home in Ottawa. They were supported by visiting ministers sent by the OBA and, on August 23, 1857, nine charter members formed the congregation now known as First Baptist Church Ottawa. 

The group initially met in the Temperance Hall, believed to have been located at the east end of Queen Street. In 1860, the congregation was wrestling with the question of continuing to meet or disbanding. The group decided to continue and to construct its own building. The congregation purchased a lot on the south side of Queen Street, between Elgin and Metcalfe Streets, and a substantial limestone building, consisting mainly of a hall capable of seating 200 people, was constructed. The congregation began meeting in the basement of the building in January 1862 and the church was completed in December 1863.

A white marble slab was built into the wall of the church’s front gable, engraved with the words “First Baptist Church, 1861” although the church was commonly known as the Queen Street Chapel. The slab can be seen in the sanctuary of the current building.

During this time, the Reverend James Mackie from Perth, Ontario, became the congregation’s first permanent ordained minister; he was succeeded by the Rev. R.J. Langridge in April 1863.

In 1865, the Rev. Daniel McPhail became minister of the church. He achieved some fame by riding through the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Valleys on his horse, Prince, to establish and serve congregations in eastern Ontario. He resigned in 1870 to devote himself to evangelical work in the district. The following year the Rev. Archibald A. Cameron took over the ministry of the church, which had grown to 60 members.

In 1875, Mr. Cameron preached a controversial sermon in Toronto on the topic of baptism. The Evangelical Alliance of Ottawa was outraged and a pamphlet war, familiar in the days before radios, televisions and social media, flared up between Mr. Cameron and the Rev. J. Bethune, a Presbyterian minister in Chesley, Ontario. The press took an interest in the controversy and people flocked to hear Mr. Cameron speak, often coming back for more. Attendance swelled in response; 320 names were added to the church rolls and, by 1882, church membership stood at 240. 

The Current Building 

The congregation soon outgrew the Queen Street Chapel and bought land on the corner of Maria Street – renamed Laurier Avenue in 1904 – and Elgin Street. Construction began in spring 1877 and the cornerstone of the current building was laid by Prime Minister Alexander MacKenzie, a Baptist, on July 26, 1877. 

Although an engraved mason’s trowel was provided for the ceremony, the prime minister, who had apprenticed as a stonemason, borrowed a proper mason’s trowel from one of the workmen. He spread the mortar, set the stone, tapped it with the heavy tool, and said, “Now I declare this stone well and truly laid”. The unused ceremonial trowel, returned to the church by the prime minister’s grandson in 1946, is on display in the sanctuary. 

Although named by the building committee as “The Baptist Tabernacle,” the church came to be known as First Baptist Church.

The church continued to grow under the leadership of several ministers: Archibald P. McDiarmid (1882-1889), George M.W. Carey (1889-1893) and Robert Rowley McKay (1893-1896). By 1889, membership stood at 405 and the newly-formed Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (BCOQ) met in the church building. The following year, the practice of renting out pews was abolished.

The Rev. Cameron returned for a second pastorate in 1897 and stayed until 1911. During his ministry, Fourth Avenue Baptist Church was organized with 20 members from FBC and 10 from McPhail Memorial (1899), individual communion cups were introduced (1902), and Mr. Cameron was sent as a delegate to the first meeting of the Baptist World Alliance in London, England (1905). He received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from McMaster in 1906 and was elected president of the BCOQ in 1910. With his retirement in 1911, after 25 years of service, an era for FBC also came to an end.  

The Rev. Benjamin Goodfield succeeded Mr. Cameron in 1912. During his short ministry, the church added a new wing on the neighbouring lot on Laurier Avenue, which had been purchased in 1901. The new extension, built in 1914, included space for a kitchen, a furnace, a minister’s combined vestry and office, a choir room, and Sunday School and social rooms, plus a spacious organ chamber (containing a new organ) and new baptistry. Mr. Goodfield resigned in 1915, in the midst of the First World War, and the Rev. Albourne Newcombe Marshall served as minister from 1917 to 1924. 

During the fall of 1918, because of the global influenza pandemic, the church was closed for several Sundays. By 1925, church membership had declined to 329 from 611, the lowest level since 1888. 

Major Renovations and Remodelling 

More short pastorates followed: the Rev. Ernest E. Sayles (1925-26), and the Rev. A. Robert George (1927-31). 

In 1928, the church underwent major alterations after it was discovered that the roof needed repair and that the west wall had sustained serious water damage. Architect Albert James Hazelgrove redesigned the interior, moving the pulpit from the west wall to its current location at the south end of the sanctuary. 

New oak paneling, a reredos, and other wood work were installed, along with new lighting and new stained glass windows by Toronto artist Peter Howarth. A three-panel stained glass window designed by the same artist was set high in the north wall as a memorial to John C. Edwards and his cousin, John A. Cameron. The Edwards and Cameron families assumed the costs of the sanctuary reconstruction. 

The congregation held its first service in the remodeled sanctuary in October 1928 and the memorial window was unveiled by Governor General Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Lord Willingdon, on June 2, 1929. It is a uniquely Cana-dian design, depicting an Ottawa Valley lumberjack and a riverman on either side of Christ, shown as the Divine Carpenter.

On May 1, 1932, the Rev. Stuart Ivison became minister, opening another era for the church congregation. One of the highlights of the early part of his ministry was having the famous Dr. T.R. Glover of Cambridge University conduct three notable summer ministries in 1935, 1936 and 1937. The Second World War arrived in 1939 and Mr. Ivison enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1941, serving as a military chaplain and attaining the rank of major. The interim was supplied by the Rev. R. George Quiggin until Mr. Ivison returned to the pastorate in December 1945.

In 1957, the congregation celebrated its centenary and a four-year appeal was launched to raise funds to cover necessary maintenance, including the sheathing of the spire with copper, the creation of “The Ottawa Scholarship” at McMaster Divinity College, and a fund to be devoted to church extension in the Ottawa area. About seven years later the decision was made to replace the fifty-year-old pipe organ with a new organ that would be installed in the newly enlarged organ loft. The new organ, made by Casavant Frères of St.-Hyacinthe, Quebec, was dedicated in a special service on Sunday, March 20, 1966.

The Rev. Ivison retired from his post at FBC in 1971, after 39 years of dedicated service. Ministers since then have been the Rev. Dr. Ralph J. Cummings (1971-1983), the Rev. John Watson (1984-1987), the Rev. Dale R. Soble (1988-1995), the Rev. Deborah Dempsey (1996-2008), the Rev. Neil Hunter (interim minister 2008-2009), the Rev. Fred Demaray (interim minister 2009-2011), the Rev. Dr. Scott Kindred Barnes (2011-2018) and Jesse Smith and the Rev. Tony Boonstra (shared interim ministry 2018-2020). From 1857 to 2023, FBC has seen twenty-one pastors ministering for periods of two to thirty-nine years. 

Through the years, the church has been the home church of many significant Canadians. Notable members have included former prime minister, the Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker, Mr. Justice Roy Kellock of the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice John E. Read of the International Court of Justice, Mr. Grant Dexter, Ottawa correspondent of the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Hon. Donald S. Macdonald, PC.

The Church Today

The current minister, the Rev. John C. Perkin, came to FBC in July 2020, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with the influenza pandemic of 1918, the church was closed several times for extended periods. Unlike 1918, however, technology allowed the church to continue providing worship services and Sunday School lessons through online YouTube recordings, and meetings, choir practices, and studies via Zoom. 

In spring 2023, the church began live-streaming its services with the installation of new audio-visual equipment. At the same time, the church enhanced its commitment to inclusivity by removing the ends of three pews so that those who use mobility devices can sit in the midst of the congregation, not at its edges. 

The church has been vigorous in its support of local religious and community activities. In past years, for instance, church facilities have been used by Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cornerstone Housing for Women, the International Prison Chaplains’ Association and others. Currently, Blatchly Hall is home to the Restoring Hope Ministries, which provides overnight shelter and meals, from Friday to Tuesday, to Ottawa youth who are experiencing homelessness, marginalization and exploitation.

The congregation supports a wide range of initiatives, some of which are the Multifaith Housing Initiative, Habitat for Humanity, the Centretown Community Food Centre, Canadian Baptist Ministries, Matthew House, the Algonquin College Chaplaincy, and Spiritual Care in Secondary Schools.

The diversity of the congregation continues to evolve as the church welcomes members and adherents who came to Canada from nations across the globe, including Argentina, Cameroon, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Rwanda, Syria and Vietnam as well as others. The church has also been very active over the years in supporting refugees, either directly or with other churches, including people from Afghanistan, Armenia, Laos, Vietnam and more. 

Since 1989, FBC has also been privileged to be the garrison church for Baptists of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families who would otherwise lack a home church.

Significant Dates:

1878 The current building opens for worship.

1909-10 Dr. Archibald A. Cameron serves as president of the BCOQ.

1914 The annex (extension) is built on the west side of the original church.

1928-29 The church interior is renovated.

1956-57 Mrs. Mary Milne is the first woman to be elected to the position of president of the BCOQ.

1957 The church celebrates its centennial and establishes a scholarship at McMaster Divinity College.

1966 The current organ, built by Casavant Frères, is installed.

1967 The Baptist Federation of Canada meets in Ottawa. The opening address at FBC, This Place Where We Meet, is given by the Rev. Stuart Ivison.

1967 The Centretown Churches Social Action Committee is founded by nine churches, including FBC. Its main focus is oversight of the Centretown Emergency Food Centre, which was renamed the Centretown Community Food Centre in 2023. 

1970 The first women are appointed to the Board of Deacons.

1971-72 The Rev. Dr. Ralph J. Cummings serves as president of the BCOQ.

1973 The first issue of the newsletter, Contact, is published with Eleanor Wees as editor.

1985 The church building is designated as a Heritage Building by the City of Ottawa and a plaque is placed on the exterior. 

1987 The Board of Deacons agrees to a request from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) chaplaincy service that FBC establish and maintain a membership roll for members of the CAF who wish to become affiliated with the Baptist denomination but who have no local congregation with which to unite. 

1990 The church library opens.

2000 The tradition of Santa’s Café begins, offering spectators refreshments and a warm place out of the cold following the annual Santa Claus parade. 

2004 FBC, and especially the Rev. Deborah Dempsey, is instrumental in establishing Discovery University to provide non-credit university courses for those who had been denied this experience through poor health, a lack of income or homelessness. The first class is offered in 2005 and the program continues to this day.

2005 The lower level of FBC is named “Blatchly Hall” in honour of the Blatchly family and in recognition of Lynn Blatchly’s years of service.

2007 FBC marks its 150th anniversary with many special services, events and activities, including preparation of a new history book, First Baptist Church Ottawa: Worshipping and Serving for 150 Years (published in December 2010).

2010 FBC participates in Doors Open Ottawa for the first time.

2012 An elevator (along with a push button-operated exterior door and an accessible washroom) is installed to make the sanctuary and Blatchly Hall levels fully accessible.

2013 Restoring Hope Ministries establishes a youth shelter in Blatchly Hall.

2023 The church library is named the “Eleanor Wees Library” in honour of the first librarian, Eleanor Wees. FBC and two other downtown churches establish the Community Kitchen Project, opening their kitchens once a week to people who lack proper cooking facilities to prepare good, healthy food for themselves or their families.

Revised May 2023