BEDFORD PARK UNITED CHURCH was founded as a congregation in 1921 and the present sanctuary was built a few years later in 1924 as part of the early development of North Toronto north of Lawrence Avenue.  During the past 85 years the area and the church have undergone many changes.  In order to meet the needs of an expanding congregation, that one time exceeded 1000 members, and to meet the need of community groups, two additions were added to the sanctuary.  The east wing was built in 1950 and the west hall and gymnasium in 1961.  The congregation now faces a very different challenge from that faced when the membership was growing.  Our membership has dropped so dramatically over the last 40 years that we must seek an alternative way to exist at 100 Ranleigh Avenue.

IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE

The BPUC building is an aging, high-maintenance building that is being used by a variety of user groups.  The current building will soon require significant changes including updated heating, electrical and plumbing systems and further accessibility aids for people with disabilities.

The present congregation has managed to maintain the facility with the support of our user groups.  However, the current situation is not sustainable in the long term and so two options were considered.  One would be to sell the property for development by a commercial developer.  The other is to continue as a church community within a new building.

A NEW WAY TO LIVE

When faced with the pressing need to make major renovations, the congregation began to dream a new dream.  We could build a new building that would address the needs and enlarge the vision to meet the growing needs expressed by another group of North Toronto residents.  Statistics show us that there is an increasing number of elderly people living in our area who have expressed a preference to continue living in their community past the time when they can comfortably maintain a house.  We believe we can implement a plan that will enable our congregation to continue to worship on our site and also provide a place for independent seniors in the community to live.  The members of our congregation care deeply about this community.  Many of us live nearby and some have spent most of their lives in this area.  We are committed to redeveloping our property in a way that all who live in the area will be proud of it.

OUR VISION FOR OUR FUTURE
The congregation would like to see the present church replaced with a building that will provide a flexible, multi-purpose sanctuary space that could be used for worship on Sunday and other purposes mid-week.  The new building would be environmentally friendly and energy efficient.  We also want to provide accommodation for independent seniors and be able to support some of their needs on site.

The vision may be best stated in the Mission Statement adopted by the Building Committee of BPUC as follows:

Guided by God’s Spirit, Bedford Park United Church of The United Church of Canada , commits itself to use its resource of land to develop a building to:

* House seniors with a variety of income levels, and provide services for them through SPRINT, using the concept of “aging in place”,

* Host the congregation of Bedford Park United Church, and other congregations as the opportunity arises,
* Provide meeting space for community groups to host their programs