Google map of our location on Bayview just north of York Mills here »

Oriole-York Mills
United Church

2609 Bayview Avenue
North York, ON M2L 1B5

Phone:(416) 447-5941
Fax: (416) 447-0463
email »

Oriole-York Mills (OYM) United Church is located in the Bayview -York Mills community in the former North York area of Toronto.

Within a two-mile radius of our church we find:

• excellent public transit with the east-west Sheppard Avenue subway and the north-south Yonge Street subway, with both systems supported by major bus routes leading right to our doors;
  
  
• the 401 Expressway and the Yonge, Bayview and Leslie interchanges and an extensive grid of well-defined major roads providing easy access to our site;
  
  
• the high-rise towers of Daniels Condo Complex on Sheppard Avenue East, soon to be joined by other major housing projects near by, which will add some 20,000 new residents over the next five years;
  
  
• similar high-rise, upscale condos and town homes five minutes to the west along Yonge Street, north of the 401-Yonge interchange, which, when completed, will house another 20,000 new residents;
  
  
• two large, modernized shopping centres, Bayview Village to our north, and Fairview Mall to the east;
  
  
• two existing low-rise town-house complexes, one immediately adjoining OYM, another just to the north of the Bayview-401 interchange; and
  
  
• a host of large, new, single-family dwellings scattered across the Bayview-York Mills area which, along with the condos, are redefining its demographics.

OYM’s easy accessibility allows us to reach beyond our immediate community to all of the Greater Toronto Area, in our quest to welcome a new generation of spiritual seekers. The above residences are increasingly populated by younger professionals and executives, both Christian and Jewish. They complement the existing base population of mature residents living in a mix of single-family dwellings, condominiums and apartments. The growing number of Chinese residents adds to the ethnic and cultural mix.

This is fertile ground for nurturing relationships and welcoming people in their mid-life to the United Church of Canada. In this regard, promoting the United Church’s Emerging Spirit initiative to these new generations in our immediate community will be of much value.

Research done to date by the Emerging Spirit initiative shows that the 30-45 age group hungers for spirituality and is willing to pursue its need for spiritual nourishment, mentorship and growth through a church such as the United Church of Canada. In appealing to these younger generations, we need to be responsive to their needs, including:

• a better work-life balance;
• sincere and longer-lasting relationships;
• a stronger sense of belonging and purpose; and
• deeper moral-ethical values for themselves and their children.

In a place of worship, this age group is seeking:

• an extended congregational family that cares for and supports one and all;
• a first-class Church School and active youth programs;
• openness and acceptance of change;
• new ways of expressing spirituality (i.e., more participation, less formality, more fun, greater creativity through a mix of music and media), at new times and in less time;
• outreach that makes a real difference in our community and our world;
• intellectual challenge and stimulation, rather than doctrinaire teaching;
• a feeling of renewal, hope and fellowship; and
• ministers with integrity and lay leadership with vision.

Schools

A cluster of elementary and junior high schools feeds either York Mills Collegiate or L’Ecole Secondaire Etienne Brûlé. Many private schools are near by. York University’s Glendon Campus is just south and Seneca College is at Finch Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) to the north of the church.

Health Care

North York is well serviced for any possible health care need. North York General Hospital (www.nygh.on.ca) is at Leslie Street and 401. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (http://www.sunnybrook.ca/) is near by to the south on Bayview Avenue. Neighbouring Sunnybrook is the Bloorview MacMillan Centre, catering to children with physical disabilities (http://www.bloorviewmacmillan.on.ca/). The CNIB centre is very close. The Naturopathic College and Chiropractic College are on Leslie Street just north of the 401. Recreation A very busy YM-YWCA is just north at Sheppard and Bayview Avenues. York Mills Arena is a few minutes’ walk to the south.