| Ministry |
Description |
| WORSHIP |
| Visitors Follow-up | All visitors to “the
Saints” are encouraged to sign our guest book.
Each visitor will normally receive a follow up contact from our
Minister, Rev. George Zimmerman, as well as a thank you card for visiting our
spiritual home. |
| Worship | We worship each Sunday morning at 11:00 (10:00
during the summer), with additional special services held during the Easter and
Christmas seasons. Communion is offered
four times in the year. Our building is
barrier-free; we have hearing-assist devices available; we are served by
several major OC Transpo routes; and there is ample free parking on
site. Worship services at “the Saints”
aim to provide participants with a chance to step away from the ordinary and
mundane, experience that which is devout and spiritual. It is our belief that this contributes to
spiritual well-being, refreshment of the inner self, and overall health. See our website at http://www.thesaints.ca/ for additional
information and details about the dates of specific services. |
| Membership | We are most pleased to extend a great warm
welcome to each visitor to our Sunday morning worship services and other
programs. We would be honoured should
you consider us to be your spiritual home.
We seek to provide all those affiliated with us a safe place, free from
the judgements of the world, to maintain a sound spiritual center of
gravity. We extend an invitation for you
to stay after our Sunday Worship Service for coffee and a chance to chat with
the people of the congregation about the programs and theology we offer. We are interested in your story. Our goal is to meet, as best we can and with
God's help, your spiritual needs and contribute to your spiritual
well-being. Our minister is available to
talk with you about becoming affiliated in one way or another with “the
Saints”. |
| Baptism | Our Minister is available to talk with you about
the Sacrament of Baptism if that interests you or a family member. The Presbyterian Church believes there is
only one Baptism, it is good for life, and that infants with the authority of
the parents may be Baptised. The main
criteria is an interest in being part of a Christian Faith Community like “the
saints”. |
| |
| EDUCATION |
| Sunday School | Sunday School is provided
in the hall downstairs during each Sunday’s worship service (September to June) for children
ages 3‑14 (with flexibility offered at both ends of the age bracket, so
as to accommodate the needs of individual children and families). Our Sunday School
leaders follow the "Seasons of the Spirit" (http://www.seasonsonline.ca/)
curriculum. In accordance with the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s “Leading with
Care” policies for children,
youth and vulnerable adults who
participate in our church’s activities and/or use our
facilities, children will be cared for with Christian compassion and will be
kept safe, with a two-person supervising rule in place, at least one of whom
has gone through a police check. You are
encouraged to consider being one of our Sunday School leaders and part of this
vibrant and exciting outreach team. |
| Nursery | A nursery is provided downstairs during each
Sunday worship service for children up to three years of age. In
accordance with the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s “Leading with Care”
policies for children, youth
and vulnerable adults who participate in our church’s programs/ministries
and/or use our facilities, children will be cared for with Christian compassion
and will be kept safe, with a two-person supervising rule in place, at least
one of whom has gone through a police check.
Volunteering in this ministry is a great chance to help young families
participate fully in our Sunday worship services. |
| Bible Study | A lively discussion is
held each Wednesday afternoon (3.00pm) for anyone interested to share in
fellowship and to nurture spiritual growth.
The study atmosphere is friendly, comfortable and generates great
exchanges of opinion and lots of laughs.
Participants report increasing awareness of their own spirituality and
relationship with God. The learning
atmosphere is based in Adult Learning Principles. |
| Website and Facebook | Visit our website at http://www.thesaints.ca/
for the most up-to-date information about life at “the Saints”, including
details on our history, upcoming events, sermons and other items of
interest. Also, check us out on Facebook
at http://www.facebook.com/thesaints.ca
for the latest in happenings at our vibrant community. |
| Announcements | We produce a take-home
handout of upcoming events, activities and special occasions for distribution
at each Sunday’s worship service. This
allows for everyone to keep up to date on happenings important to us at “the
Saints”. Contributions are welcome from
everyone! A copy is also posted on our
website at http://www.thesaints.ca/. |
| |
|
| COMMUNITY |
| Adult
Day-Time Social |
The only qualification
needed for this group is to enjoy great fellowship. They meet downstairs in the Church hall on the second Thursday morning
of each month at 10:30 to share some fellowship time. Each session wraps up with a
delicious freshly prepared lunch. A
free-will offering towards the cost of the meal is collected. Newcomers are always welcome. |
| Coffee Hosts | Our time-honoured tradition
is to serve refreshments immediately following our Sunday morning worship
service. This ministry, where
volunteers are on a rotational schedule, provides a great opportunity to contribute to, and share,
in the wonderful fellowship that is a point of pride at “the Saints”. |
| Fellowship Group | This adult group meets monthly (date and
location varies, as announced in the weekly bulletin) for fellowship and social
activities. Activities in the past
include visit to theatres, Movie nights, visits to various festivals, museum visits, and picnics. The purpose is for friends to
get together for shared activities. Newcomers are always welcome. A meeting is held each Fall to plan for the
upcoming year’s activities (suggestions are always welcome). |
| Morning
Break | This multi-generational
group of women meets in the church hall downstairs on the first Wednesday of each month
11:30 for study, prayer and fellowship, and is always interested in welcoming
new participants. This ‘behind-the-scenes’
group provides many opportunities to contribute to our wellbeing at “the
Saints”, and has a great track record of providing outstanding fellowship, as
well as building and reinforcing long-term friendships. |
| Pastoral Care | This team meets monthly
(except in the summer), and is made up of members who are particularly gifted
in mercy and are sensitive to those in need of care. Newcomers are welcome to share in this
extraordinarily rewarding outreach ministry, and referrals are always
encouraged. |
| Prayer Circle | This band of ‘prayer
warriors’ meets only as required. They
focus their efforts on providing prayers for people and situations in
need. The criteria for membership are a
genuine interest in offering prayer and the capacity to respect the privacy and
discretional needs of those who are placed inside the circle. |
| Ushers and Welcomers | Each Sunday we have a
team of people who greet fellow worshippers as they arrive, supply a warm
welcome to newcomers, and distribute the bulletin and announcements. New members are always welcome to this team
and are added to the rotational schedule.
This is an example of another another great opportunity to contribute to and
share in the wonderful fellowship that is our point of pride at “the Saints” |
| Choir |
The choir meets in
the church sanctuary each Thursday evening at
7:30. All are welcome to join for great fellowship and music,
regardless of musical abilities. |
| Music
and Worship Committee |
This team meets
several times a year, as required, and helps the
Minister plan and select the themes and content of our worship
services, including music selection. |
| Visitors
Follow-up |
All visitors to
‘the saints’ are encouraged to sign our
guest book. Each visitor will, if they wish, then receive a
follow up contact from our Minister, Rev. George Zimmerman, as well as
a thank you card for visiting our spiritual home. |
| The Saints also
support: |
The weekly collection
of food items for the
Overbrook-Forbes Community Resource Centre.
|
An annual Christmas
food basket program.
|
An annual Christmas
Child Shoe Box
campaign.
|
An annual delivery of
Christmas treats and
poinsettias to the less mobile members of our congregation.
|
| The catering
of twice annual meals to High
Horizons, a group that offers social and recreational activities for
physically challenged adults. |
| |
| GOVERNANCE |
| Session | Session is made up of the
church’s elders and our minister, Rev. George Zimmerman. Elders are women and men who have been
elected by the congregation and ordained.
Session provides for the overall ministry of the congregation, including
pastoral care, worship, Christian education, stewardship and mission. |
| Board of Managers | The Board meets on the second Tuesday of each
month, and has regard to the temporal and financial affairs (as
distinct from the spiritual affairs) of the congregation. The Board monitors the financial health of
the congregation, ensuring the bills are paid and the property maintained, and
is responsible for other related aspects of operating the church. Members are elected by the congregation for
fixed, but renewable, terms. |
| Board of Trustees | Trustees meet at least once
a year, and are responsible for signing deeds pertaining to property owned by
the church; oversight of the church building, property and equipment; and
administer the trust funds of the congregation.
Trustees must be members in full communion at “the Saints”, and are
elected to a five-year term (renewable) by the congregation. |