Introduction - These six pages are not meant to be a complete history of CJUC. The trends of each decade are described along with specific turning points in the life of the church. Pleasant reading!

The 1950s - The formation of the Toronto Japanese United Church Issei Congregation (Japanese speaking) in 1946 was a necessity because of the spoken language. Church leaders hoped that the English speaking Niseis would attend and join a local congregation. However, due to the war experience and the close-knit bonds made during the evacuation, most Niseis did not go to local churches. Thus, the Toronto Japanese Nisei Congregation was established in 1954 under the leadership of the Rev. K. Shimizu. The facilities of he Queen Street United Church were used, in close proximity to many Japanese Canadians living in downtown Toronto. The expanding Issei and Nisei congregations required more space and in 1958 accepted an invitation from the Centennial United Church on Dovercourt Road to share the use of their building. This necessitated constructing an upper chapel resulting in its catacomb-like architecture, designed by Raymond Moriyama. The post-war baby boom was a reality for Japanese Canadians too and it showed in the large number of married couples and a growing Sunday School.