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Saint James United Church (Église Unie Saint-James in French) is a heritage church in downtown Montréal, Québec. It was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. It is also Quebec religious heritage building. The United Church of Canada is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. The United Church was inaugurated on June 10, 1925 in Toronto, Ontario, when the Methodist Church, Canada, the Congregational Union of Canada, and 70 per cent of the Presbyterian Church in Canada entered into an organic union. Joining as well was the small General Council of Union Churches, centred largely in Western Canada. It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines and hence received international acclaim. Each of the uniting churches, however, had a long history prior to 1925. The congregation traces its beginning to the seven members of Montréal’s first Methodist congregation who first came together as a church in 1803. The Methodists began as a reform movement within the Anglican Church. Its congregation founded the first YMCA in North America on November 25, 1851 (before the present church building was built) and led an active campaign for women's suffrage early in the 20th century. The present building is the congregation’s fourth home. It was built between 1887 and 1889 after the congregation decided to move uptown from St. James Street, hence the name. When it was built, it was the largest Methodist church in Canada, with 2,000 seats; it was nicknamed the "Cathedral Church of Methodism." In 1927, to cover upkeep costs, the church permitted a commercial building to be built in front of its Saint Catherine Street façade. The building, adjoining the church’s structure, concealed the church for over 78 years, the church itself being announced by a large neon sign. In 2005, as part of an $8-million restoration effort sponsored by the city of Montréal and the Québec government, a portion of the commercial buildings were demolished, once again revealing the facade of the church as well as a new public square designed by Quebec architect Claude Cormier. Access has also been restored to the rear lawn from Saint Catherine Street.