The United Protestant Church of Sydney River is a community oriented church with a congregation of many ages.

Our regular worship time is 10:00  AM on Sundays and lasts an hour. There is an active Sunday School with very devoted teachers on Sunday at 10:15 AM. Supervised nursery is available during 10:00 AM church services.

We are very busy with our outreach and offer many programs for all ages. We do love to eat and offer weekly times to get together to enjoy fellowship and a sense of community over tea, coffee and supper etc. Our three women’s groups and men’s group and senior choir offer many opportunities for people to come together and welcome new members and guests at any time. Weekly exercise programs are available for your benefit and enjoyment.

WATCH ONLINE

You are welcome to join our service online at our Youtube Channel 

Sydney River United Protestant Church or  click here 

A LITTLE HISTORY

Every church built for divine worship and community involvement has its own characteristics, influenced by its location and its people. the United Protestant Church of Sydney River, overlooking the beautiful water of Sydney River, is surely one such Church. At the time of building it was the only church in Canada before the Ecumenical Movement where people of five different Protestant Denominations – Presbyterians, Anglicans, United Church, Baptists and Lutherans – decided to pool their resources and build a community church.”  (Gillis, Iver,  The United Protestant Church of Sydney River: The First Fifty Years, 1951-2001)

So begins a recently published history of the United Protestant Church of Sydney River. This congregation was formed in the post war period as the suburbs of Sydney River and Coxheath began to grow. The book traces the history of the region from the early Mi’Kmag settlements along the river to the now heavily populated outskirts of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia.

As the community grew, the people felt that their families would be better served by churches in the area than by driving all the way into Sydney. In 1947-8 the Roman Catholic Parish of Our Lady of Fatima was formed. This spurred on the Protestant families to form a united “protestant” church. An ambitious building program was undertaken, mostly with volunteer labour. It soon became apparent that some denominational affiliation would help in the matter of financial help, and acquiring a minister. The United Church of Canada, Sydney Presbytery, agreed to welcome the new congregation and the search for a minister was under way. The first minister was a man in his seventies, with boundless energy, Rev. Dr. A.A. MacLeod, who guided the people in forming the church, and beginning the building of hall, church, and manse.

Since that time this pastoral charge has grown  from a few interested people to about 600 families. It has continued to welcome people of different faith traditions, has been a strong “family-oriented” church, has provided space for the community for recreation, and fellowship in addition to being a spiritual centre for worship, education, and mission.