United Churches for Dartmouth (UCFD) is a “cluster” under the United Church’s structures. The six United Church congregations in Dartmouth (Cole Harbour Woodside United Church, Grace United Church, Stairs Memorial United Church, St. James United Church, Port Wallis United Church, and Woodlawn United Church) come together for sharing and collaberation among congregations.
Spiritual Reflections: Every Wednesday morning, a member of the clergy (and occasionally a lay person) produces a Spiritual Reflection which is posted on the Facebook page for UCFD which can be found by clicking here.
Worship Projects: UCFD has two non-Sunday worship activities monthly.
Tuesday Pause is a 20 minute contemplative service held at St. James Church (181 Portland St.) on the first Tuesday of the month from 6:00pm-6:20pm. This service has some music, readings and reflective time. A video on Tuesday Pause can be found here.
play.pray@church is held on the first Saturday of the month. It is an all-ages informal interactive worship experience from 4pm-6pm. People of all ages are invited to gather to explore the theme of the day with creative arts, activities and thought-provoking conversation that leads to an informal and interactive worship time. Fellowship continues as we conclude our time together by sharing a provided meal. The location varies. A video about play.pray@church can be found by clicking here. If you would like to be involved in planning, help at a session, or have any questions, please contact Cindy at Cindy.Penney@dal.ca or Vicki at vicki.harvey@ns.sympatico.ca We would like to thank Bermuda and Nova Scotia Region for their financial support.
Study Groups: Besides the studies that individuals churches do that are open to all United Churches in Dartmouth. During at least Lent and Advent period, a minister or lay person from one church will host a study at a different United Church. In Lent 2025, a study of Bishop Budde’s book How We Learn to Be Brave forms the basis of a study being offered at St. James on Wednesday mornings, facilitated by Rev. Stephen Fram and one offered on Thursday afternoons at Grace, facilitated by the Rev. Catherine MacDonald.
Please consult the calendar for other studies that are being offered.
Other Resources: During the Pandemic lay people produced craft, story and meditation videos. These along with some lego/playmobil Bible readings are available on UCFD YouTube channel which is found here
In 2023, we hosted the Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Landsdowne at an event at Woodlawn. A video of the Moderator’s speech and Q&A can be found by clicking here
