Hope Springs United Church

Hope Springs United Church is the amalgamation of three congregations: Alma United Church, Bethany United Church and Elora United Church. It worships in the stone church at the corner of Church and Geddes Streets that Elora’s Methodists built after buying the two lots in 1860; construction began in April 1862, the cornerstone was laid on July 10, 1862, and the opening services on March 1, 1863 drew over 700 people. A gallery added in 1871 by Salem carpenter Thomas Beck raised the seating to 800. The building is the oldest of Elora’s major church structures and remains in use as the village’s United Church.

The congregation describes itself as intergenerational, offering a kids’ table and Children’s Worship during the service, and it practises an open communion table about six times a year. Its ministry team includes a Minister for Families and Youth, Rev. Jen Auger. The church office is open Wednesday and Thursday mornings; visitors are asked to use the side door on Church Street and ring the doorbell.

What to expect

Services begin at 10:30 a.m. and last about an hour, and there is no dress code. Children join the opening of worship and then move to Children's Worship led by screened volunteers, with a kids' table stocked with activities. Communion is celebrated about six times a year at an open table, and services are livestreamed on YouTube starting about 15 minutes before the service.

What United Church members believe and how they worship