These community of faith features aim to empower people to get to know the communities of faith and ministries around the regional council! Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be adding a posts about individual communities of faith or ministries around the PMRC. We hope that it will foster a spirit of being neighbours in Christ, near and far.
Hello, Pitt Meadows United Church!
Pitt Meadows United Church website
In Pitt Meadows and surrounds, we are identified with the “Little White Church” at the center of town. Some years ago we decided to buck the decline trend in the western church and go all in. We hired a full-time minister, Rev. Bethan Theunissen. We are committed to being a Christ-inspired presence in our community. We understand God’s dream for our town and surrounds is that we be “diverse neighbourhoods living with joy in nature, working together, united in caring and respect for all persons.” To that end, our own congregation finds our purpose in “bringing hearts together in the Spirit of Christ, sharing God’s love and justice in our neighbourhoods and beyond.” Something that we really like and cherish about ourselves as a community of faith is that we’re small in size but big in heart, welcoming and holding each other gently but closely. We love to be together and leave worship on Sunday each committed to living the Christ-life in our neighbourhoods, in our families, at work, and through our community associations. We like to help people find and use their gifts. Excited to be welcoming new families, we are still mostly seniors, and we face challenges around hybrid technology. We would love your prayers to join with ours for new people to join us in our common purpose for our neighbourhoods.
Hello, Castlegar United Church
Castlegar United Church website
In our town/ neighbourhood, our church is known for apple pies! Pre-pandemic what began as a simple pie making fundraiser at Thanksgiving time turned into an epic community event where as many as 600 apple pies have been made over a 2-day period by members of the church and the community at large. We are hoping to resume this in 2022. We are also known for the downtown Thrift Store we share with St. David’s Anglican Church.
Our Mission & Vision statement is “We envision our church community as vibrant and bold, embodying the reconciling Way of Jesus”. Another ministry who we connect with sharing time and resources, events, and spiritual care is Camp Koolaree. Something that we really like and cherish about ourselves as a community of faith is that we really like each other. Visitors who have been to a lot of different churches always comment what a peaceful, friendly atmosphere our church has. We are also happy to be an Affirming Ministry. Some challenges our community of faith faces, and we welcome prays of support for are in the work of reconciliation, especially with the Sinixt people (formerly known as the Arrow Lakes Band) who were declared extinct by the Canadian Government in 1956 and were only just recognized as still existing in 2021 by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The hymns or songs that our community of faith tends to return to again and again are… Let Us Build a House, Draw the Circle Wide, Don’t Be Afraid, and ALL THE CHRISTMAS SONGS! (Like seriously, we can’t get enough of the traditional Christmas Carols!) The benediction that sends us out at the close of Sunday worship changes every week, but always begins with the words “Beloved Church…”. One of the natural features in God’s creation that’s near to where we gather is the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers. – Rev Robin Murray, Castlegar UC Minister
