Frequently Asked Questions

• • I want to have a wedding, funeral or baptism. What do I do?

  Talk to the pastor. Each of these has specific legal and/or church requirements. Please contact us before you set a date, and we will be happy to work with you on your specific pastoral needs. These sacraments are available to all.

• What exactly do you do?

1. We follow Jesus: As a Christian church, we are called to love God and love others, so that over time, we are able to love selflessly like Jesus does. This comes from being formed in prayer, Scripture, service, and community. We set aside time on Sundays to focus on God and to allow the story of God's redemption to sink into our hearts. This involves listening to readings and teachings from the Bible and engaging in liturgical practices that help embody how God works in our world. Then, we do our best to walk in Jesus' footsteps by extending the same love and generosity to those around us.
2. We pray together inside and outside church, because prayer is the foundation of a relationship with God. Our communal prayer is rich with references to the Bible and prayers written by ancient and modern followers of Jesus. We share Communion (consecrated bread and wine) as a sign of God's healing work through Jesus and of the unity and service that forms our lives. We sing together because it's another joyful way to pray.
3. Outside of Sunday mornings, we do our best to support one another, to continue in personal and corporate prayer and discipleship, to trust God, to serve our community, to continue the work of love and justice that Jesus began, and to grow closer to God.

• There are churches everywhere. How do I decide where to go?

The wide variety of Christian denominations reflects historic disagreements, movements of people, and variations in theological emphasis. As a whole, followers of Jesus have unfortunately been better at fracturing than uniting. Every denomination has a different emphasis in its worship, theology, and expressions of faith. But what makes a Christian church is not its building or music or length of sermon, it's Jesus Christ: God incarnate, fully human and fully divine; crucified, risen bodily from the dead, returning one day to restore all of Creation.

Unfortunately, every church falls short of what it should be. So it's important to see choosing a church like becoming part of a family rather than curating an experience. It takes prayer, time, intention, patience, and the willingness to learn and be transformed.

That said, if you would like help discerning which corner of the family of God to consider, our pastor is happy to help you find the best fit, no strings attached :)

• Why do you follow a liturgy? Isn't it rote, boring, and excluding the Holy Spirit?

This is a common criticism from those looking at liturgical churches from the outside. There are many reasons that we (along with the majority of Christians globally) continue to use liturgies to guide our prayer and community life. Here are some:

1. Liturgical prayer immerses us in the grand drama of God's salvation. It invites us to grow a Jesus-shaped life. It drives the Bible deep into our hearts. The liturgies we follow are heavily Scripture-based and written during long seasons of prayerful collaboration and discernment. Can the work of God in the world ever be called boring?
2. Liturgical forms of prayer get the leaders out of the way. Everyone has their favourite Bible stories and areas of emphasis. If worship is shaped by one person or a small group of people, it will eventually skew toward their own knowledge and preferences. Following a liturgical rhythm of prayer ensures that we attend to the breadth of God's saving work and the whole sweep of the Christian life in relationship with God.
3. Liturgical prayer sustains a life with God over the long term. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, we then have to grow in our relationship with God through the following years and decades, being formed through prayer, Scripture, and community in the Jesus-shaped Way of Love. Liturgical prayer provides a framework to navigate this path of Christian formation, no matter how we are feeling or what we are facing in our lives.
4. The work of the Holy Spirit is expansive. We believe that God can work through anything, including the prayerful crafting of language to guide the prayers and beliefs of the church.

Apart from regular communal liturgies, Anglican Christians pray in many different ways. Some prefer ancient tools for prayerful formation, such as lectio divina (a way of meditating on scripture rooted in early Christian monastic movements), sacred pilgrimage, or Ignatian prayer (a way of listening to God through entering Bible stories imaginatively). Others prefer to pray extemporaneously, individually or in small groups. Some lift their hearts to God as they walk in nature or as they serve others. Still others find their prayer influenced by Charismatic Christian traditions. Some use their own cultural practices and insights to build a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However you pray, there is room for you here.

• What if I don't know what I believe?

That's what we're here for, not to give you a set of doctrines, but to be a family of people seeking and being sought by God. A relationship with God is a lifelong journey of discovery best undertaken within a praying, learning community of faith.

• Do I need to be an Anglican?

Not at all. "Anglican" is just a name for the historical and theological flavour of our church, which is part of the much larger fellowship of followers of Jesus around the world and through time. You are welcome here if you identify with the Anglican expression of faith, or if your experience is in another church, or you have never been to church at all.

• Is the building accessible?

The main floor is accessible via a wheelchair ramp to the front door. We also have a large, accessible, main-floor washroom.

• What about my kids?

Children are welcome to participate fully in the life and worship at St. Columba. Children learn and grow in their faith by being part of the worshiping community, and we understand that wiggles and noises are an integral part of the life of our church. Please feel free to bring snacks and quiet activities to help them along.

Our practice is to welcome children to receive Communion as soon as they are baptized. This is because we recognize baptism as the foundational sacrament for the whole Christian life. We baptize infants, children and adults as a sign that God's Grace is active no matter how much we understand intellectually. The smallest child and the most learned theologian both have the same need for God's grace! A relationship with God through Jesus Christ does not depend on our maturity or ability, but on God's love for us. That said, each family may decide how their children participate.

We build intergenerational and youth- and family-oriented programs in response to the needs of our context and congregation as they evolve. Please contact us if you have any questions.

• Where do I park?

Our parking lot is right outside the door. In case the lot is full, ample parking is available along 50 Avenue.

• What do I wear?

Whatever you feel comfortable in. Some people choose to dress up a little, while others prefer casual.

• How can I get connected? 

Come for worship or contact the pastor or any member of the congregation.