Thank you for journeying with us through this blog as we have explored how particular United Church congregations are thriving. As mentioned in my first post, the good news is that there are far more thriving United Churches than we had Sundays to visit. The congregations we visited are only a small sampling of strong …
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St. George’s United Church, Courtenay, B.C.
Inviting, inspiring and investing in the way of Jesus Christ, this congregation focuses on hospitality, worship and growth through outreach and education. Five years ago, there was one child attending St. George’s when Rev. Ryan Slifka was called. In 2017, Rev. Ingrid Brown was called and St. George’s now averages 30 children. Lay leaders credit …
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St. Andrew’s- Wesley United Church, Vancouver
In one way or another, all churches are under construction–or at least should be! St. Andrew’s-Wesley is physically under construction and its sanctuary is closed for a major, 2 year renovation. During this time, its three Sunday services are held at a neighbouring hotel, Baptist church and Anglican church. Yes, the building closure is having …
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Eagle Ridge United Church, Coquitlam, B.C.
In 2002, there were only about 40 people attending Eagle Ridge. Pastor Dave Anderson brought a paradigm shift that slowly began building up the church into a strong community of 300 families that is diverse in race, age, sexual orientation and ability. He knew that we no longer live in a Christendom era–our secular society …
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Red Deer Lake United Church, Calgary
Red Deer Lake has worked very hard to spread a message of welcome and acceptance. They recently became Affirming and have prioritized gender and sexuality, diversity and ethnicity, mental health and accessibility. This church lies on the outskirts of Calgary and calls itself both city and country, old and new. It added a significant addition …
Hillhurst United Church, Calgary
Hillhurst measures all that it does by its core values of spirituality, radical hospitality, social justice and risk-taking. At each Board meeting, they take turns being a listener for these values. These values are also named at the beginning of each worship service, along with a warm welcome to their coffee station during the service …
Symons Valley United Church, Calgary
While the church began about 35 years ago, its current building is 10 years old, with a state of the art sanctuary, complete with theatre lighting & AV booth. There are no permanent religious symbols in the sanctuary, to allow it to be multi-purpose. As it is the only church in a new suburb that …
Charleswood United Church, Winnipeg
What draws people to Charleswood? Some of the lay leaders and staff named diverse worship with a variety of music styles based on themes (e.g. Jazz, Dixiland, Beatles, contemporary) and a long-term pastorate with their minister, Michael Wilson, who provides excellent preaching, pastoral care and visioning. Others named the multiple, weekly programs where people can …
St. Martin’s United Church, Saskatoon
As their sign board notes, St. Martin’s is clearly welcoming of young families with children, no matter the noise they bring! During the worship service we attended, no one seemed phased (including the preacher) by a child turning a garbage can and heat register into a drum during the sermon. I’m not sure how that …
Grace United Church, Brampton Ontario
A decade ago, Grace United was talking about shutting its doors. It was losing people and the ability to maintain a 25,000 square foot building. That was when the visionary leaders began to dream. They incorporated the church hall as a non-profit community resource centre called Grace Place. It rents space to community organizations, including …
Thriving United Churches 