St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church of Belleville is a collection of wonderful God loving people. Creative, talented, generous individuals of every age and every background are gathered as Christians, coming together in fellowship to confess their faith and worship God. It is a fellowship in which Christ's Spirit is present, and through which he continues his work of redeeming love in the world.
We would love the opportunity to meet you and join us in worship one Sunday. We look forward to seeing you in the not too distant future!
This is a deep subject. We've touched briefly on it in our Theological Background page and you can read more about the subject by visiting The Presbyterian Church of Canada's website and reading "What We Believe".
No problem! Here's what to expect. When you enter the church, 2 members will greet you with a warm handshake and smile. Feel free to ask them for guidance about anything. They are a wealth of information or can help you find the right person to talk to. These are also the people to ask if you need assistance finding our hearing service, our large print song books or even colouring pages for the kids. You will then be handed the service bulletin, which you can follow along during the worship service. The bulletin explains the order of service and will help you to find hymn page numbers, when the children go to the front of the church for a story before Sunday School scripture readings and other events. The bulletin also includes the St. Andrew's Pulse insert, which explains the events of the week, upcoming activities and other social tidbits.
At a regular service, the following is usually the sequence of events. The organist plays during the prelude of the worship service and at 10:30, the minister welcomes everyone and the congregation then sings the first hymn. The minister and the congregation then take turns reading aloud the short Call to Worship, which you can follow along in the bulletin. The processional hymn is then sung and the St. Andrew's Choir walks down the aisle and up to their seats at the front of the church. The congregation sings the introduction to prayer, which is the same song each Sunday, so you may notice many people have this memorized. The minister then says the Prayer of Approach which is then ended together with the congregation and minister reciting The Lord's Prayer out loud.
The minister then welcomes everyone. The Passing of the Peace follows. This means that for a minute or two, everyone stands up and shakes hands with those around them and says good morning. The next hymn is then started, during of which, the children and the Sunday School teachers go down to the front pews. You may also want to go and sit with your child if they're nervous or if you would like to talk to the teachers. The hymn stops and the minister talks to the children and tells them a story. The hymn is then finished while the children go upstairs to Sunday School for the rest of the service. (Parents are asked to go upstairs afterwards to pick up their child/children as we would prefer they didn't leave by themselves.) A scripture reading is then read by both the minister and the congregation taking turns. This reading is printed in the bulletin.
The St. Andrew's Choir then sings the anthem. The scripture readings for the service are then read, usually by someone from the congregation that the minister has asked beforehand. Another hymn is then sung by everyone. The minister then walks over to the other pulpit and preaches the sermon. After the sermon, the organist plays while the offering is received. At this time, the greeters, along with some helpers, pass a collection plate down the pews and anyone wishing to donate money, can put it in an envelope (found in the pew) and place it in the collection plate. This money helps with the upkeep of the church as well as Christian missions. Announcements are then read from the St. Andrew's Pulse insert, as well as any other news.
The final hymn is then sang by everyone and the minister ends with The Benediction. The minister walks up the aisle to the back of the church to shake hands with everyone as they leave.
No way! At the end of every service, everyone is invited to the round room (the same door that the Sunday School leaves through at the front of the church) for Happy Hour. This is a time for refreshments and social gathering. The perfect opportunity to talk with others about anything and everything while enjoying a cookie or a sandwich and a cup of coffee. You can meet the other people that attended church, make new friends, talk about the sermon, ask questions about activities going on, or just put an end to that rumble in your tummy! At the same time as Happy Hour, the Sunday School hosts Sunshine Hour, where cookies and juice are available to the children. This allows them to make friends, read a book, or play a game while parents enjoy Happy Hour or come up and talk to the Sunday School teachers. A great way to end a wonderful Sunday morning!
St. Andrew's is a blend of traditional and contemporaries, as like most families, we have many generations with many different ideas. But together, our church family loves to have fun! For example, one Halloween, which landed on a Sunday, Rev. Anne-Marie Jones preached the sermon dressed as one of The Three Musketeers! Now that was something to see! The children at St. Andrew's love the huge, funny hats that Rev. Anne-Marie wears while telling the Sunday School children a story. Her hats vary in size and appearance, depending on the occasion. She even has a birthday cake hat! While we have a traditional choir singing beautiful anthems with the organ, we also have guest performances including a rock band. There are also many activities for everyone to enjoy, from regular groups to special events.
These and many other common questions are answered in our Frequently Asked Questions page. If your question cannot be found there or you need more detailed information, please feel free to contact our Minister directly. She would be happy to help you out!