Sundays & Messages
How & Why We Worship
Worship is first about God and about re-centering ourselves toward him week after week. It is about encountering him. It is a time and place that is set apart from the hustle and bustle of life to help us re-orient ourselves toward the Living God in Jesus Christ.
Worship is the heartbeat of the congregation, which is why we do it at regular intervals: It is our pulse, sets our pace and helps keep us in sync with the Rescuing God. It is therefore life-affirming and necessary to the nurturing of the Christian life. Here at Westminster, our gatherings are characterized by warmth and faithfulness.
Our music style is "blended." We worship with one foot grounded in our great historic tradition and the other firmly planted in modern life. We seek God's timeless message and try to connect these insights to our modern lives in ways that are celebratory, mysterious, educated and beautiful.
We sing praise songs and hymns; we strive for biblical preaching and celebrate two Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper; and we value participation by the congregation. In all things we try to be warm, faithful, sincere and gracious.
Overall, worship has a three fold movement: 1. We gather in Jesus' name. 2. We are equipped to live as Christians. 3. We are sent into the world to continue Jesus' ministry. Ultimately, we yearn to leave church renewed, uplifted, challenged and strengthened to live-out God's love in our community.
To see what one of our weekly 'Orders of Service' looks like (what guides us through our service), click here.
Above, Matthew is offering a message during the wedding of Rod and Julie Cunha. Photo courtesy of www.denisemilitzer.com.
Nursery & Sunday School
At Westminster we have a Nursery available for kids up to 3 years old and you can feel free to drop them off before the service begins. Just ask the greeter at the door where to go. Our nursery staff and Sunday School volunteers are a friendly and loving group.
We also have a Toddler Group. This group sings songs, makes crafts and plays games in a way that is fun and sensitive to their age.
The older children (after a time in the service with the minister called "The Church as the Family of God") leave the sanctuary with the Sunday School teachers. Based on their age they divide into two groups.
The Junior Group (children roughly 4 years old to Grade 3) follow a curriculum called Heart Shapers. The children participate in discussion, Bible stories and crafts as they learn about Jesus' unconditional love. During Sunday School they are welcomed as integral members of God's family.
Recently children have also been encouraged to bring a small financial offering (perhaps some change or a few dollars) to put toward some self-chosen mission projects. This encourages in the children a sense of stewardship and concern for people who need our help.
The Senior Group (children roughly Grade 4 to 8) also follow the Heart Shapers curriculum and engage in many of the same activities as the younger group. However, because of the age difference, there is more discussion and the activities are geared to a more mature age level.
Westminster is dedicated to providing a loving and safe environment for all of the children in our congregation. To help us in this regard we are in the process of implementing the Presbyterian Church’s nation-wide Leading With Care policy.
Music
Music is a key part of worship at Westminster and the Choir plays an important role singing God's praises every Sunday from September to June. We sing a mix of modern praise songs and more traditional hymns.
Made up of both men and women, the Choir leads hymn singing during Sunday service and offers Special Music at various times throughout the service. Some members come from a history of singing choral music, others barely read music at all, but all come with an enthusiastic love of sharing God's word through music and voice.
At two times during the year, the Choir prepares and presents more significant musical works. During Advent the Choir typically prepares a 20-30 minute Cantata and during Holy Week the Choir performs several major works, culminating in a celebratory music offering on Easter Sunday. The church encourages a wide variety of musical expression. This is reflected in the occasional duet, trio, quartet, solo or ladies-only and men's only choruses. The Choir welcomes new members at any time, please contact the office if you are interested in joining us for a Thursday night rehearsal.
Messages
Worship centres around God’s living word which we discover in Scripture. Preaching is an event that involves both the minister and the congregation as they attempt to discern and explore that message as it connects with our lives today.
Below are some of the latest messages preached by Rev. Ruttan. They are in .pdf format.
| Date | Title | Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| February 19, 2012 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 6 (Parenting): 5 Truths and a Messy Kitchen |
Transfiguration Sunday |
| February 12, 2012 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 5 (Spiritual Warfare & Satan): Disarming Satan |
Epiphany 6 |
| February 5, 2012 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 4 (Science and Faith): Friends or Foes? |
Epiphany 5 |
| January 22, 2012 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 3 (The Second Coming of Christ): V-Day |
Epiphany 3 |
| January 15, 2011 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 2 (Politics): On the Right Side of the Soil |
Epiphany 2 |
| January 8, 2011 | Series: Talking About What We Don't Talk About Part 1: Huh? God in the Cheap Seats |
Epiphany |
| January 1, 2012 | A New Year's Revelation | New Year's Day |
| December 24, 2011 | "Grace Happens" | Christmas Eve |
| December 18, 2011 | This Sunday the message was shared by our Choir in their Cantata: 'Touched by a Child, Touched by a King' | Advent 4 |
| December 11, 2011 | This Sunday the message was proclaimed by our Sunday School in their annual pageant! | Advent 3 |
| December 4, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 9: The Vision from Eagles' Wings | Advent 2 (Sacrament of Communion) |
| November 27, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 8: The Truly Happy Person | Advent 1 (Honouring Elders Service; Welcoming New Members) |
| November 13, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 6: She's Somebody's Child | Pentecost 22 |
| November 6, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 5: Those Who Rocked the Cradles | All Saints' (Remembrance Sunday) |
| October 23, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 4 (Interlude): Can Being Good Save Me? | Pentecost 19 |
| October 16, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 3: He Ceased and Caught His Breath | Pentecost 18 |
| October 9, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 2: By Reputation, Of Course | Pentecost 17 (Thanksgiving Sunday) |
| October 2, 2011 | 10 Commandments Series--Part 1: One Bright Day in the Middle of the Night |
World Communion Sunday |
