Our Beliefs

What We Believe About Loving God  

We are a church that cares deeply about loving God and loving our neighbours. We have discovered that as our relationship with God grows, our own brokenness is also healed, which helps us learn how to love ourselves the way God loves us. As Christians, we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but we use many different names for the Trinity (such as Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter). The person and work of Jesus Christ is central to our faith, and we use his teachings as our template for how to live. We welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit to help us as we seek to bring God's gospel of love, peace, and justice to our little corner of the world.

There is a wide range of theological beliefs within our congregation, and we don't just tolerate that diversity - we actively value and nurture it, because we believe our different perspectives are one of our greatest strengths. Your spiritual views, including your questions and your doubts, are welcome, too! No matter what your current understanding of God is, we invite you to join us on this journey of faith.

We believe that all Christ-followers, Catholic and Protestant, Evangelical and Liturgical, are part of the body of Christ, the one, global, holy catholic Church. We happen to be part of the United Church of Canada (which is what we call our denomination), and as a UCC congregation, we tend to value thoughtful engagement with contemporary social issues. We don't just think about what we believe, though; we also try to apply our faith daily in our 21st century Canadian context.

You can read the latest United Church of Canada theological statement by clicking on this link. It's titled "A Song of Faith" and it represents a creative attempt to describe our foundational beliefs: http://www.united-church.ca/community-faith/welcome-united-church-canada/song-faith

What We Believe About Loving Our Neighbours  

The people of St. Andrew's care deeply about meeting the needs of our local, national, and global neighbours. We are a small congregation, yet we manage to raise and donate several thousand dollars annually to the United Church of Canada Mission & Service Fund.  Hundreds of other United Church congregations across the country join us in giving to M&S, and collectively, we raise between twenty-five and thirty million dollars each year. This money is used for programs here in Canada and around the world, programs that give practical assistance and compassionate care to people experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental illness, and food and water insecurity. We assist refugees of war and those fleeing violence because of their racial, cultural, or sexual identities. Additionally, we can respond quickly when natural disasters occur because of our carefully vetted network of international church, government, and aid agency partners.   The Mission and Service Fund goes beyond crisis care: we also seek to love our neighbours by breaking the cycle of poverty through development and education. We provide resources to elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools globally, with a particular emphasis on keeping girls in school. We contribute to a number of agricultural and micro-credit programs, employing local citizens as program staff and purchasing regional goods and services to strengthen the local economy, rather than shipping donations from Canada. For more information about the Mission and Service Fund, click this link: https://www.united-church.ca/community-faith/get-involved/giving-choices

Closer to home, we make regular donations of groceries and personal care items to the County of 40 Mile Food Bank.    

We distribute blankets/shawls widely in Bow Island and beyond. Some go to the local women's shelter, and others are given out at baptisms, to college students, at hospitals and nursing homes, at funerals for grieving family members, and to anyone needing a little warmth and a practical reminder that people are praying for them. Every blanket or shawl literally has prayer woven into it, and the congregation also prays for each recipient before the items are distributed in our region. Donations of yarn and fabric are always welcome; please contact the church office if you have some to share! 

What We Believe About Loving Ourselves 

The people of St. Andrew's gather at the church each Sunday to worship God.  

We believe that every human being has been made in the image of God, who created all of us, and who loves us deeply. As sons and daughters of the living God, we have intrinsic worth and value - not because we must do anything outstanding to try to earn God's love, but rather, simply because it is in God's very nature to love us unconditionally, lavishly, and perfectly. As we soak up God's love for us, we begin to learn how to reflect that love in our lives - in short, over time, we begin to love ourselves, and to love others, because God first loves us. God teaches us how to love, and this transforms our understanding of our worth as human beings, and our value as creatures made in the image of the Creator.