
Rent With Us: St. Matthew's is a community hub with affordable spaces in many sizes. Click here to learn more
St. Matthew's worship activities are hybrid.
You can attend in person or online.
We share worship and fellowship with
Bloor St. United Church.
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​​Upcoming Worship​​
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Sunday, June 15 @ 10.30 a.m
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Trinity Sunday worship service with Rev. Douglas DuCharme
at St. Matthew's United Church in person or on Zoomchurch.
You can also phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, enter
ID 361 611 8730, then press # #.​
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Saturday, June 21 @ 4.30 p.m
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Leaning to the Light Jazz Service in St. Matthew's parlour.
A cozy afternoon of music, poetry, and time for reflection.
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Sunday, June 22 @ 10.30 a.m
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​Sunday worship service with Rev. Douglas DuCharme
in person at St. Matthew's United Church
or on Zoomchurch followed by Summer Solstice ceremony.
You can also phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, enter
ID 361 611 8730, then press # #.​
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Solstice ceremony, June 22 @ 12.30 p.m.
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Indigenous ceremony with elder Catherine Brooks in the
Noojimo'iwewin Gitigaan garden at St. Matthew's United Church
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Pride Sunday, June 29 @ 10.30 a.m
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Pride Sunday worship service with Rev. Douglas DuCharme
at St. Matthew's United Church in person or on Zoomchurch.
You can also phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, enter
ID 361 611 8730, then press # #.​
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Sundays in July @ 10.30 a.m
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Worshipping with Trinity-St. Paul's or on TSP Zoom.
Address to come. Services at St. Matthew's resume
in August.
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Join us for:
Children's programs, seniors' social, Indigenous Solidarity Group, Family Fridays, Monday Bible study, Making a
Difference speakers, Congregational lunch
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St. Matthew's is much more than Sunday services. Join us to socialize,
learn, think about our city, play games and have fun. To stay up to date
on what's happening, subscribe to our newsletter at stmattsunited@gmail.com
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Parking at St. Matthew's
Our parking lot is small and most spots are reserved.
If you need parking to join us on Sundays, please find somewhere
on the side streets or look for the Green P lot just west of the church.
Enjoy our 100th Anniversary Organ Recital with Dr. Paul Jessen


Give to St. Matthew's at the Donate button or by etransfer at marcelle.stmattsunited@gmail.com
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Noojimo’iwewin Gitigaan—A National Healing
Forests Project at St. Matthew’s United Church
The Healing Garden at St. Matthew’s United Church began as a small circle of Sacred Medicines—Tobacco, Sweetgrass, Sage, and Cedar—that expanded to include heritage food plants just as Covid 19 arrived in our midst. Elder Pedhubun Migizi Kwe/Dr. Catherine Brooks, gifted the garden the name Noojimo’iwewin Gitigaan at our first Fall Equinox Ceremony in 2020.
The site is both a place to remember those lost to Residential
Schools and other forms of violence as well as a place to celebrate Indigenous spirituality and cultural resilience. Ceremonial songs and drums resound off the surrounding buildings with each change of season, as the local community is invited to reconnect with the Land and Waterways right where they live.
Led by Teachings from Elder Catherine and Elders Dan and Mary Lou Smoke, Noojimo’iwewin Gitigaan has developed significantly under the stewardship of the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Group at St. Matthew’s. We are grateful for generous donations and grants from community members, the United Church of Canada, PollinateTO, Park People, Canada Summer Jobs, and the Horticultural Societies of Parkdale and Toronto.
Right Relations Food and Medicine Garden
The Right Relations Food and Medicine Garden is at the centre of the space, defined by a community-built, spiral fence of “Siberian bamboo.” The 3 Sisters of Haudenosaunee agriculture—corn, beans, and squash—receive additional protection from the high winds in this urban canyon from a tipi of 7 poles for each of the 7 Grandfather Teachings. Tomatoes and other plants native to the Americas also flourish here.
The Medicine Wheel north of the 3 Sisters mound is now
surrounded by wild strawberries, raspberries, blue cardinal
flower, butterfly weed, and bergamot. Some non-native plants, such as the Rose of Sharon and culinary herbs gifted by community members, are included.
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Commemoration and Ceremony
The north end of the garden emphasizes commemoration and Ceremony. A burlap and sinew banner and shoe memorial after Haida artist, Tamara Bell, reminds us that every child matters; a red dress hanging in the yew tree references the REDress Project of Metis artist, Jaime Black, and honours Elder Mary Lou’s sister, Debbie Sloss Clarke.
A round Rain Garden and Conversation Circle echo the shape of the full moon in Bert Whitecrow’s Ode’min Giizas panel high on the church wall, while half moon gardens continue along the wall and sidewalk. Posters on the trees recall the now-hidden waters of Ziibing/Taddle and Garrison Creeks that flow below.
The south end of the garden, known as the Children’s Garden, is, like those in the north, dedicated primarily to native plants and pollinator habitat. Many monarchs, swallowtails, and even a rare blue hairstreak have been spotted among the flowers along with more native bees than we can name, let alone count.
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National Healing Forests Project
In 2021, we became the first Toronto project to affiliate with the coast-to-coast-to-coast National Healing Forests initiative. As of 2022, we have been joined by the Miinikaan Indigenous Teaching Garden at the Bickford Centre and Tollkeeper’s Park. We are grateful to have the endorsement of Anishnawbe Health Toronto as the National Healing Forests network in our city expands.
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Together, we are marking places where Indigenous and non-
Indigenous people can come together for truth-telling about
Canada’s colonial and continuing history, and act for justice.
Learn more at www. https://www.nationalhealingforests.com