Royal City Mission
  • About Us
    • Our Values
    • Our Story
    • Our Space
    • Our Leadership
    • Our Impact
  • What We Do
    • Drop-In Program
    • Meal Program
    • Worship Service
    • Outreach
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Partner
    • Ways To Give
  • Contact
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give
  • About Us
    • Our Values
    • Our Story
    • Our Space
    • Our Leadership
    • Our Impact
  • What We Do
    • Drop-In Program
    • Meal Program
    • Worship Service
    • Outreach
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Partner
    • Ways To Give
  • Contact
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give

Our Story

Rooted in Guelph
Centred in Christ
Our story runs across decades, spans across different groups, and comes together to form who we are.

We didn't start out as Royal City Mission, but we see the values of Relationship, Justice, and Beauty running through our forebears. What we do today is informed by where we have been.

What We Do
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50 Quebec St. Has A Church

Our building's construction was completed. Chalmers United Church (then Chalmers Presbyterian) had been worshiping in the basement since the 1850s while the sanctuary was being built. The worship space is now our Dining Room and still contains the original hardwood flooring from those early days.
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Our Distant Foremothers

A ministry team from the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church (now EMCC) opened an outreach mission in downtown Guelph. These 'ministering sisters' shared the Good News of Jesus by renting a storefront, serving meals to any who had need, and offering hope, dignity, and friendship, often at great personal expense. The outreach lasted until 1911. We consider these women our distant foremothers - a precursor to the work that we do today.
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Home Church

Commissioned by Joshua Crossing Church in Oakville, Ontario, a small group of people started meeting together to dream, investigate, and pray about how they might best serve Guelph. This group grew and in 1992 the first worship services were held.
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Our Official Start

As the group continued to meet, they decided to formalize the gathering and wrote a constitution - Royal City Evangelical Missionary Church was born. This was the official founding of Royal City Mission. We met in various locations around the city, still praying, investigating, and dreaming of how we might best serve the city.
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The Meal Program Begins

Meanwhile, downtown at 50 Quebec Street, a small and dedicated group of volunteers from Chalmers United Church started a food pantry serving non-perishable food items. These same volunteers started serving meals at 6pm on Saturday nights.

The food pantry expanded to become Chalmers Community Services Centre in 2006.

Saturday Night Dinners continued with the support from many churches and faith groups. In 2008, Saturday Night Dinners formally became a part of Royal City Mission's programming.
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Moving Downtown

50 Quebec Street was purchased and we moved into our beautiful space.
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The Life Centre

The Life Centre officially came into being. Born out of Ray of Hope's Nighlight program, the Life Centre became a defining feature of who we are. With the goal of providing a safe and loving environment for anyone who is in need, the Life Centre grew to include our Meal Program which provides over 50,000 meals a year to anyone in need.
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One Community

We took on the name Royal City Mission - a name which points to our intertwined past of church and outreach.

Today

Our story keeps growing as we make the invisible visible in Guelph.
What We Do

Learn More About Us

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Our Values
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Our Space
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Our Leadership
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Royal City Mission
50 Quebec Street
Guelph, Ontario
N1H 2T4
[email protected]
519.837.3777

Registered Charity | Royal City Mission Church
Charitable Number | BN 845427871RR0001