Sunday morning
Our Sunday service is at 10:30 am. Our style is informal and friendly. Feel free to dress casually or dress up – just be yourself. When you arrive, a greeter will welcome you and give you today’s bulletin (if you’d like a large print copy, please ask). Feel free to sit anywhere you like, there’s no reserved seats.
We gather with everyone for the first part of the service. After the Learning Together, introducing the theme of the day to everyone, the children are then invited to their own program (except during July and August) which may include stories, songs, crafts and other activities. Please see the Bashaw children’s page on this site.
We use a combination of media. The bulletin in your hand tells you what’s happening in the service (we don’t usually announce things) and includes announcements and information. We use Voices United and More Voices as our main source of hymns and songs. The screen at the front displays images, video and text that connect with our theme for the day.
A unique feature of our services is the use of live-streaming for the Learning Together and the Message. As a partner in Rising Spirit Ministry, our minister alternates Sundays between Bashaw and Ponoka. While each follows the same theme and general format, those two key parts are live-streamed to where he’s not.
We generally stand to sing and sit otherwise, but that’s marked in your bulletin. Please only stand if you’re able and feel free to participate as much or as little as you like.
We don’t pass the offering plate, there’s a large box in the lobby instead. If you’d like to make a donation, please leave it in there. We also use PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) and there are other ways to donate, including online through this site. There’s lots of information available about what your donation can do, both in our community and, through Mission & Service of the United Church of Canada, around the world. We appreciate your support and provide a receipt with our thanks.
Gathering
On a week night each month at 7 pm, we have a different kind of “gathering.” We connect with God and each other by exploring a spiritual theme with short videos, images, discussion and dialogue, and music from our house band, Holy Band, and guests. It’s interactive and engaging, heart warming and spirit nurturing.
Celebrating Life Passages
The rituals that mark important moments in our lives are important to us. You are encouraged, but not required, to be a member of our congregation or the United Church of Canada to engage in these. Please contact the church office or speak to our minister for more information.
Baptism
We baptize children and adults and honour baptism as the recognition of our place in the universal church of Jesus Christ as children of God. We are honoured when people choose to be baptized with our church family. In the United Church of Canada, baptism is an act of the community, so all baptisms take place as part of a public church service. Promises of love and support are made by both the congregation and the person being baptized or parents on their behalf. Godparents or sponsors are welcome, but not required. A certificate and candle are presented at each baptism.
As a United Church, we recognize the baptism of all Christian denominations.
Weddings
Our church is a beautiful place for a wedding ceremony. We believe that God is part of the covenant of marriage and a religious ceremony reminds us that wherever there is true love, God is present, because God is love.
Recognizing our uniqueness as individuals, our minister is open to creative and meaningful ceremonies. There are legal requirements to be met, but your wedding should express who you are while doing that. He is also available for weddings outdoors and in other locations.
The United Church of Canada welcomes all couples legally allowed to marry, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Celebration of a Life
We are a church of the community and seek to respond to all who experience the loss of a loved one with compassion and care. While it is a time of grief and sadness, we also celebrate the life that has been lived and honour the belief that, in leaving this life, we return home to God. A Celebration of Life may be a funeral (the casket or urn is present) or memorial. In addition to services at the church, our minister is also available to go to a funeral home, hall or graveside service. For more information, please contact the minister through the church office.
