The community of St. Andrew's is committed to sharing God's love and grace, and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus through worship, study, work, action and fellowship. All persons ae welcome to take part in every aspect of church life including membership, leadershp, and celebration of all life's passages, regardless of: age, gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, differing abilities, ethnic background and/or economic circumstances.
St. Andrew's Affirming Journey
St. Andrew's Affirming Ministry journey began when a request was brought to the church's Executive Board in November 2016. With their approval to start the journey of education and discernment it was brought it to the Congregation.
An Affirming Ministry Team was formed. Our first meeting took place on the 15th of April, 2017 and we started on our own education by working from the Open Hearts: Resources for Affirming Ministries in the United Church of Canada (UCC). Some members of the committee attended Spirit Pride Conference at St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church and attended a workshop by Dr. Martha Dow relating to Judicial and Societal Landmarks for the Lesbian Bisexual Transsexual - (LBTQ) Community. We were invited by Golden Ears UC Affirming committee to hear Dr. Pat Dutcher-Wallace speak on A Biblical Approach to Full inclusion. This led to the committee examining our Church bible, New Revised Standard Bible and found it the most inclusive.
We worked out a design for new name tags and presented them to the Congregation. In April, 2018, after Church, we presented the DVD, Three Churches and their Affirming Journeys. With Executive Board members we revised our Marriage Policy. Two of our members worked on a new Mission Statement which was presented to the Board and approved. Our committee wrote out our commitment to our ongoing ministry. We presented the 3 above requirements to Affirming and all approved.
In November 2018, the Congregation voted their approval as well.
We are planning our Affirming Celebration for Sunday, March 3, 2019, at 3:00 pm, where we will be publicly declaring St. Andrew's intention to be fully inclusive of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities. For more information on our Affirming Celebration: Affirming Celebration
St. Andrew's United Church Mission Statement
Being children of God, Becoming followers of Jesus, Belonging to a Christian community.
We are called as a congregation to support, equip and nurture our members as we live our call to serve God's children in Mission and the Central Fraser Valley.
The community of St. Andrew's is committed to sharing God's love and grace, and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus through worship, study, work, action, and fellowship. All persons are welcome to take part in every aspect of church life including membership, leadership, and celebration of all life's passages, regardless of: age, ethnic background and/or economic circulstances.
We pray for God's spirit to guide us as we work for reconciliation and justice for all people in both church and society.
Affirm United
Affirm United works for the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in The United Church of Canada and in society.
Our Affirming Team is continuing to be active during these trying times!
St. Andrew's Affirming Team:
Linda Bouchir, Darian and Tyler Komaszczuk , Deborah Handley, Cathy Waller and Candice White.
For more information, visit the Affirm United website: https://affirmunited.ause.ca/Affirm United
