Mark Your Calendars!

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 7:00 pm via ZOOM. An invitation will be sent to members as the date approaches.

Pre-registration is required and will be available here soon. 

If your membership is soon to expire and/or you recently received a renewal notice, please RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP by CLICKING HERE.

AGM business will be followed by a special illustrated presentation: 

CONCRETE, STONE, AND STAINED GLASS: OTTAWA'S RURAL CHURCHES with historian and genealogist Mary Catherine Moran. 

In many of the rural communities which form part of the City of Ottawa, historic churches still stand as local landmarks, evoking the rural and agricultural past while serving as community hubs for contemporary residents. Built to serve the needs of various rural denominations, these small village churches show a range of building materials and architectural styles, from Gothic Revival stone to modest red brick to Boyd block concrete. Some date back to the 19th century but have since undergone extensive renovations. Others were built in the early 20th century to replace older buildings that parishes or congregations had outgrown. In some cases, village churches still host an active parish that can trace its roots to the early settlement of a rural community. And in one notable example of adaptive reuse, the village church now houses a branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

While many of us take justifiable pride in the beautiful old churches in our downtown core, we are less familiar with the rich material and cultural heritage of our rural churches. We are delighted to offer this presentation that focuses on rural churches as a significant part of Ottawa's built heritage. 

GUEST SPEAKER:

Mary Catherine Moran is a historian and genealogist who lives in rural Ottawa. She has a PhD in History from Johns Hopkins and is the author and owner of Ottawa Valley Irish: A Family History Weblog and Genealogy Database. Her interest in rural churches derives from her research in Ottawa Valley parish records and church histories, and she is a passionate advocate for the preservation (and adaptive re-use) of older church buildings as an important part of the historical legacy of Ottawa’s rural communities