Doors Open Ottawa – Navan-Vars United Church Celebrates 100 Year Anniversary

Navan-Vars United Church celebrates 100 years of Community and Faith! All are welcome to come and visit on Saturday, June 6, 2026 as part of the City of Ottawa’s Doors Open event.

Situated in the rural community of Navan, Navan-Vars United Church was officially opened on September 10, 1926. The church was built by R.A. Kemp Ltd. of Ottawa, at a cost of $6,998.00. It is a one storey wood frame building with brick exterior cladding. The Wilson Memorial Church, located east of the village, had closed in the 1912 and when it was taken down in 1926, the pulpit, pebble glass windows, and pews were incorporated into the new church. They are still in use today.

In 1971 the Knox United Church and Vars closed, and its congregation began worshipping in the renamed Navan-Vars United Church. Thre is dark oak wainscotting on all the interior walls with cherry wood panelling above. The pulpit chairs were a gift from the old Western United Church, Wellington Street, Ottawa, when it was demolished around 1965.

A new entrance was built and an elevator installed in 1994, and the basement level fellowship hall had a complete kitchen renovation done in 2024.