Deer Park United Church began in 1881 as Deer Park Presbyterian Mission

Presbyterian Church in Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...

, and the first building was constructed on the northwest corner of Yonge Street

Yonge Street

Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...

 and St Clair, now presently home of an office tower containing a few radio stations, including CFRB, 99.9 Mix FM

CKFM-FM

CKFM-FM, branded as 99-9 Virgin Radio , is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 99.9 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Astral Media...

 and 97.3 EZ Rock

CJEZ-FM

CHBM-FM is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned by Astral Media. It broadcasts an adult hits format at 97.3 FM and is branded as boom 97.3 - 70's, 80's, 90's, and is also the only adult hits station owned by Astral...

. In 1913, a building was erected at 129 St. Clair Avenue

St. Clair Avenue

St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road , north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street....

 West in Toronto. It was one of two United churches

United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...

 in the area and along St. Clair, the other being Timothy Eaton Memorial Church

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, in Toronto, Canada, was erected at 230 St. Clair Avenue West in 1914 as a Methodist congregation, and named for department store founder Timothy Eaton....

  (formerly Methodist).

The first missionary was Rev. Gordon Freeman; his granddaughter is a former United Church Moderator

Moderator of the United Church of Canada

The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the presiding leader of the United Church of Canada, Canada's largest Protestant denomination. The church is highly decentralized and non-dogmatic and the moderator has only limited power...

 and former (1997-2002) Canadian Senator

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 Lois (Freeman) Wilson

Lois Miriam Wilson

Lois Miriam Wilson, CC, O.Ont was the first female Moderator of the United Church of Canada, from 1980 to 1982...

.

In 1925, this congregation voted to join the newly formed United Church of Canada. Some 370 members who voted to remain Presbyterian, withdrew and formed Calvin Church

Calvin Presbyterian Church, Toronto

Calvin Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation located at 26 Delisle Street in the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada....

. In 2006, the congregation celebrated their 125th anniversary. The next year, the Deer Park congregation was told that the owners of the Imperial Oil Building next door would no longer supply building heat after July, 2008. Due to the financial inability to maintain the large aging building, the Deer Park congregation de-sanctified the building at 129 St. Clair West in June 2008. The building remains vacant (January 2010).

The Deer Park United congregation was warmly welcomed by the Calvin Presbyterian congregation into a shared ecumenical worship. Currently, the two congregations are developing the legal and logistical framework for continuing shared ecumenical ministries. The worship services contain common elements and also elements unique to the United Church of Canada and Presbyterian traditions. Both the Deer Park and Calvin congregations are members of the Churches on the Hill

Churches on the Hill

The Churches on the Hill are an ecumenical group of Christian churches in the Yonge and St. Clair area of Toronto who work together on projects such as the Churches on-the-Hill Food Bank and other outreach projects to aid the local and wider community. The nine churches hold occasional ecumenical...

.

The current address for Deer Park United Church is 26 Delisle Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.