Saint Andrew’s United church is a community of faith, service, celebration, and mutual care. Our members are diverse in age, experience, personal background, and theological orientation. We see this diversity as a strength. We are united in our desire to be transformed, individually and collectively, by the love and challenge of Christ’s Gospel.
Saint Andrew’s has reached a threshold of promise and opportunity. We know that we need to move forward, embracing the good in our history and tradition and risking the new. We look to a New Covenant with God and each other to carry us over the threshold. To shape this covenant, we name the following aspirations and commit to their pursuit.
We aspire to:
• expand the leadership of lay and clergy;
• be open to new ideas, practices, and ways of being;
• have courage and hopefulness in the face of tough issues or disagreements;
• acknowledge our fears without being bound by them;
• constantly care for the community leaders and followers, lay and staff;
• celebrate often and in varied ways;
• govern ourselves in a manner that is innovative, responsible, efficient, and energising;
• achieve greater diversity;
• offer deep hospitality across all boundaries that isolate and alienate;
• continue to grow a community that is welcoming to all who arrive at our door on Sunday and through the week;
• be visible in the city in a way that fosters awareness of who we are and what we do; . . live a vital mission to the larger community; . . deepen environmental stewardship; . . broaden financial stewardship; . . confront and transform unjust structures in our world;
•live in study and action a theology that is grounded in both the Gospel and the world;
• keep worship, marked by excellence and diversity, at the heart of our life together;
• generate artistic creativity that is multifaceted, inspirational, and a delight to body and spirit;
• inspire vitality in our music life such that it always bends to excellence while being true to the diversity of our community of faith.
This covenant is for us a living document. We will allow it to speak to us afresh each season. We will listen with a hope grounded in the promise of the future and the faithfulness of our forbears.
