About Us

Sunday Service is at 10:30 AM at Tottenham United Church, 26 Mill Street East. Our church is accessible through the side door facing Dickerson Street. We have an elevator to bring you to the second floor.

We are one church, committed to the community, inspired by God and connected to each other.

We are a place to grow and to reflect, to find meaning and purpose in life, a safe place to ask questions and seek answers

We feed and are fed.

We pray and play.

We learn and we teach.

History of Rich Hill United Church

The name of Rich Hill was derived from a similar crossroads in County Armagh, Ireland.  The original structure of Rich Hill Methodist Church was a wooden plank building built in 1859 and located at the cemetery south of the church.  The congregation in 1887 belonged to a circuit including Beeton, Tottenham, Rich Hill, Reaney’s and Tecumseth.

In 1888, the brick church was built on land given by Robert Fleming and his mother.  The plans for the church were drawn by John Merrick Sr. of Newton Robinson and the building constructed by Johnny McCabe and James Stephenson of Tottenham.

Tottenham and Rich Hill became a two-point charge in 1900.  Church Union took place in 1925 with Rich Hill becoming a United Church.

A windstorm destroyed the church steeple in 1928 and the tower was covered with an extension of the church roof.  The vestibule was added to the church in 1980 in order to enclose the exterior steps.  Additional land was purchased in 1992.  In 2001, the top of the tower and the steeple were replaced as a millennium project and the church was designated a historic building under the Ontario Heritage Act.

In 2014, for its 126th anniversary, the church was re-dedicated using these words adapted from a quote by John Henry Newman:

“God has created this church to do some definite service. God has committed some work to this church which God has not committed to another. We have our mission – we may never know it in this life, but we shall be told it in the next. This church is a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. God has not created this church for nothing. It shall do good. It shall do God’s work. It shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in its own place. Therefore we will trust God.”

Music is an important aspect of worship at Rich Hill.  Children are central to our worshiping life.

Worship is followed by coffee and conversation.

In the early part of 2023, the congregation made the difficult decision to close the Church and amalgamate with Tottenham United Church. The closing services was on June 25, 2023.

History of Tottenham United Church

In 1885 a Methodist Church was built on the NW corner of Church and Mill St, Tottenham. In June 1895 a portion of the town of Tottenham was destroyed by fire, including the Methodist church. All they were able to save was the Pulpit Bible and the Bell. They are still part of Tottenham United Church today. Church Street was renamed Dickerson Street.

They rebuilt the church and Sept. 9, 1895 the corner stone for the new church was laid. The following are some special milestones:
1) Church Union 1925
2) June 10, 1925 The United Church of Canada was created.

The following changes have been made to Tottenham United Church:
1950 – The original pair of stairs were rebuilt coming into the front of the church.
1960 – The old furnaces were replaced with oil and later changed to gas. The floors in the sanctuary were covered with oak squares and the aisles, chancel and the choir loft were carpeted.
1972 – the front of the building was revamped.
1975 – front of the church remodelled to enclose one set of stairs.
1982 – the sanctuary floor was braced and the basement remodelled.
1984 – phase 2 of the basement reconstruction. New Gas Stove in the kitchen.
1989 – the bell tower was refinished
1996 – remodelling took place with wheel chair access, new choir and Sunday school rooms, new Minister’s office and upgraded bathrooms.
2001 – carpeting upgraded and main hall retiled.
2017 – The ceiling of the sanctuary was repaired and repainted.
2023 – The elevator was replaced.

In 2020, the church celebrated its 125th anniversary.