There are several of us from the Ottawa area who post on this site.  We also have a couple of ministers who post comments - perhaps one of them would be willing to meet with you and answer your questions

Hello Saidi, Welcome to Wondercafe. Kewl looking avatar. What's the meaning behind it?

If you're looking for a church home in Ottawa, here's a nice list for you...

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&view=text&hl=en&gl=ca&q=baptist+churches+ottawa&btnG=Search+Maps

Hi Saidi!  Welcome to wondercafe.  I'm glad you've stumbled in ... I've certainly found it to be a pretty interesting place to discuss, learn,&  just goof around sometimes. 

Did you notice that up on the top left corner of the site - there's a "church search" feature?  Just pop in your postal code & you'll find out the names of United Churches in your area.  Then you can check out their websites ... and I'm sure some members here will also be posting suggestions for you ... as eileenrl said, we do have a few folks here who do admit to living in our capital city  

There was also another thread recently - somebody (sarah_olivet maybe?) looking for churches in Ottawa - try putting some info into the "search" box located on the top right side of the wondercafe page ...

Hope to hear more from you around here ...

Here's that other thread I was thinking of - I had the poster's names backwards!

Seeking advice on seeking a church 

Thanks for the list, Jae.  I'll be perusing it this evening, looking for something close to where I am.

My avatar is an Adinkra symbol from Western Africa; it's called Nkyinkyim, which means 'twisting' and it is a symbol of initiative, dynamism and versatility.  Basically it stands for the ability to adapt to life's circumstances.

Thank you so much, Carolla!  I had never noticed that 'Church Search' feature before!  Amazing what you can miss when it's right under your nose, eh? :P

I'll be looking up that thread as well, thank you.

If I was looking for a church I woudl scout out first all the ones close by where you live.  As a starting point.

I woudl also not consider a summer sunday service to be "typical" of what the church offers.  I know we give our minister most summer sundays off and we don't have sunday school ourselves.

Most churches now seem to have web sites and they are good ways to get a feel for the activities , groups, and the theology of the minster.  Alot of minsters seem to post blogs or sermons online.

I woudl visit each church for a couple of times and see how it feels.  Some are more traditional in feel but that doesn't relate necessarily to the theology preached.  But attending helps you find out if people are friendly, if the music is upbeat or dreary, if the minsiter "grabs" you.

Good luck.

Welcome Saidi!

Your avatar is even more intriguing now that I know the meaning.  "The ability to adapt to life's circumstances"  I love that.

Seems that you're getting some great suggestions for real-life congregations to check out.  That's good.  Good advice from lastpointe to remember that summer services are generally more relaxed than the rest of the year.  Not sure where lastpointe goes to church, that she encourages you to find ministers that grab you.  That sounds scary to me!!

I hope you find that wondercafe will meet some of your needs as a spiritual group and place to chat.  It's a bit crazy at times, and rather addicting, but some of the best "thinking time" of my week is spent right here at wondercafe.

Saidi. please feel free to get in touch with me if you want to talk to a live person about Ottawa churches.  Shoot me a wondermail with your coordinates, and I'd be happy to meet you somewhere.  I will be out of town all next week, but otherwise, we can work something out!

Oh, and Jae's list is Baptist churches.  Nothing wrong with that, but since you did specifically ask for United Churches, I figured you'd at least like a heads up that that list won't help you :)

Rev, while Saidi speaks well of the United Church in her intial post of this thread, she did not "specifically ask for United Churches".

What she wrote was, "I don't belong to the United Church, but my mom does, and I've met a lot of great people from this denomination."