May 2016, the congregation continues to meet at the Ottawa Little Theatre, under the name Church of the Messiah. New Congregation The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa officially took possession of the building and name of St. Alban's Church on July 1, 2011. July 3, 2011, the first service under the new incumbent Reverend Mark Whittall, featured a baptism and an address from Bishop John Chapman, who described St. Alban's as a "spirit-led, Christ-centred and contemporary urban church". Though an "official opening" was held in September 2011, extensive renovations were needed to accommodate the return of Centre 454 to the church basement, as well as create office space and washrooms upstairs to compensate for the space the Centre would be taking up. These were not complete until November 2012, one month after Rev. Whittall was finally inducted. Since then, St. Alban's has been involved in a number of notable activities, such as hosting the uOttawa Open Table event, a free monthly meal for students and young adults; participating in the city-wide Big Give, an annual series of free pop-up stores for in-need neighbours; and officiating the first example of a transgender renaming liturgy in the Ottawa diocese. In January 2016, Rev. Whittall published a book on his experience so far at St. Alban's, titled ReInvention: Stories from an Urban Church. Centre 454 Between 1976 and 2000, the basement at St. Alban's was home to Centre 454, an Anglican Community Ministry drop-in site for homeless and "precariously housed" people. The Centre moved for a time to rented space on Murray Street, but returned to St. Alban's in 2012 after extensive renovations of the basement. The Centre features regular social activities, as well as an ODSP support worker program to improve access to disability benefits, and "in-reach" services from outside professionals. References Bibliography Author, W.M. Category Subject Call Number 365.M.12.0 External links Official site of the New St. Albans St. Alban's Anglican Church -Canada Historic Places Official site of Church of the Messiah Anglican church buildings in Ottawa Albans Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Canada 1868 establishments in Ontario